A Red Dawn
by Zagger the Bloody Angel
Summary: Being taken to another world by unknown forces, Naruto tries to find a way back to his own world. But will he want to return to home after living there for so long? Naruto/Luciela
1. The Meeting Part 1

**A/N:** After going over and over it again, I've decided to do a Naruto & Claymore crossover. I know this is going to cut into my other projects, but let's face it. I have trouble with consistency. I will, however, try to work on my others, but as of now, I'm pretty sure a few are dead in the water as they weren't well thought through. I won't try to get rid of any and try to finish them, but it might take some time as I have too many scattered thoughts to stay on one thing consistently.

Well, I hope you enjoy this first chapter as it is going to be based off of my latest Naruto Chronicle chapter. And as in that chapter, Naruto is eighteen.

I Do Not Own Claymore or Naruto

* * *

_Sometimes, Naruto wondered how the hell he ended up in this position. For that matter, he had to wonder how in the hell he ended up here in the first place._

_Take that back, Naruto did know why he was here. The damn fox is at fault for that one. He still hasn't told him how he did it, but the fox somehow managed to transcend worlds and send him here. Or at least he believed the fox was the one that brought him here._

_Ever since Naruto arrived in these lands, everything here had become absolutely insane. Run ins with the strongest creatures imaginable and doing it on a daily basis, keeping his group of soldiers from killing one another, dealing with two kids, one falling for the other without knowing it, their two caretakers, and the damn woman that he wasn't sure if he loved or just liked._

_Now Naruto was fighting for his life and he didn't know why he was doing it. It is kind of annoying to him that he did this just on a whim, but he couldn't complain. People deserve to have better lives than what they did before when he arrived here._

_Just how in the hell did he get into this situation with this monster that was staring him down?_

* * *

"Ow..." Naruto softly muttered under his breath.

Looking around, Naruto could see nothing but blue skies and a sun that seemed like an oven that was set on extra crispy. To make things worse, his head was pounding as if he just woke up after going out drinking with Tsunade. "What the fuck did I do last night?"

Knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer as simple as that, Naruto placed his hands onto the ground to pick himself up. As he did so, his hands slowly dug into the ground quite easily as it shifted like it was made of loosely packed dirt.

As he sat up, Naruto noticed that he was completely surrounded by nothing but sand. "Oh, great! I'm in a desert and Gaara isn't anywhere in sight!"

Calming himself down, Naruto slowly stand up and looked around to see if there was any features he could recognized. Then he remembered this was a desert, so he couldn't help but mutter to himself. "Just peachy. I'm in the middle of a desert and have no clue where the hell I am! ...Well, let's see... If this is the desert in the Land of Wind, I'll be all right as the Land of Fire is to the west of here..."

"But if I'm in the Land of Rock... Well just being here, I'm kind of screwed." Naruto commented to himself while looking around, hoping for a sign to tell him which way to go.

So Naruto naturally looked up into the sky as the sun was always a good indicator of what direction to go. But it seems that Naruto was having a rotten day as the sun was directly in the middle of the sky. "Perfect... No landmarks and it will be a good hour before the damn sun moves from that spot to tell me which way is east and which is west!"

Once again, Naruto calmed myself down and began to think. What would Jiraiya...

Naruto stopped thinking like that as the pervert would have made the best of the isolation and probably began writing on his perverted series. He kind of missed him and his hilarious antics, but he left him with what he needed to survive in situations just like this.

Just as he was thinking about the pervert, Naruto remembered one of the things he left him. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a compass and smirked as now he would have a pretty good idea on which way to go. Even if he was in the Land of Rocks, heading west was the best move as that would take him to the ocean and there he could barter for a ride home.

But it seemed that an omnipotent force was out there waiting to rape him as the compass hand was spinning around madly with no attention of stopping.

Twitching at this, Naruto chunked the thing as he was ready to go into a rage and start cursing the entire world out for having it in for him ever since he was born. "YOU NO GOOD PIECE OF SHIT!! YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD!!!"

After a few moments of ranting to himself, Naruto had calmed down to the point that he could think logically about how he would get out of here. Figuring he could probably get the compass fixed later, Naruto started to walk towards the direction he threw it in when a sound behind him caught his attention.

Turning around, Naruto was genuinely shocked to see a hideous creature approaching him. It had to be the most disgusting thing he had ever seen before, and that was a tough thing to say as Naruto had seen the aftermath of Jiraiya being pummeled into a pulp by Tsunade.

It had a sickening reddish skin pigment and stood about eight feet high and had the brightest and deepest set of gold eyes with the darkest pupils he had ever seen.

Each finger on its hand was a razor sharp blade that seemed to be perfect for slicing through almost any flesh. The creature had over extended arms to give it more range for swiping and more momentum for its razor blade fingers to slice through whatever was challenging it.

There was also the tail that was almost equal to its body size. It didn't seem to have very much purpose but to be a weapon for anyone that got behind the creature. Its knees were inverted, allowing it to be able to have greater burst of acceleration and speed.

Finally, there seemed to be a patch of blonde hair on the top of the scalp and at the chest, there were two protruding bumps almost like that of breasts making it seem more and more like it use to be human.

"What the fuck?" Naruto murmured to himself as he looked at the creature.

It was nothing like Naruto had ever seen before, even compared to the snake's human experiments. It was more disgusting than any of the creatures or transformations he had seen before of the snake's work. Yet he could not help but look on in awe as the creature radiated an aura of power that match that of a jounin's.

After staring at it for a moment, Naruto was left with one conclusion. The creature used to be a human and not only was it human, it used to be a woman. "Damn that pedophile and his sick experiments..."

Without forethought, Naruto drew a kunai from his pouch as the creature continued stalking towards him. He did not want to hurt the creature as it was misfortunate enough to have gone though whatever the snake was but if his life was in danger, he would defend himself.

It wasn't helping that much that the female creature was staring him down as it stopped only a few meters in front of him with a hungered gaze. There was something else to it, but he really couldn't identify it all too well until it spoke in a dark, demonic sounding voice yet keeping its feminine touch to it. "Oh, you look so yummy... Maybe I should play with you first before eating your organs..."

Naruto felt a little sick from her words as he was very sure that play was something he did not want to do with this creature. ...No, she wasn't a creature. There was no doubt in his mind that this was a monster. It might have been human at one point, but now there wasn't a doubt that she was a monster as she no longer could control herself.

He was suddenly caught off guard as her claws shot out towards him as if they were lances, moving so quickly that he couldn't keep up with them for a brief moment. He barely managed to roll out if its way and gave the monster a look of mild interest as he stood up, his red cape with black flames bellowing in the wind behind him. "Well, that's something I don't see every day."

A faint smile crossed his lips as he dodged yet another bladed lance attack, this time much more easily as he was ready for it, and caught the motions of the tendrils. He was quite curious to see if it had any other attacks before he put an end to its misery. After all, it could have something up its sleeve and severely injure him.

But it was seeming less and less likely that it had another attack as it continued using its lance attack although it was beginning to vary the number of them sent towards him. Getting tired of this repetitive assault, Naruto gripped his kunai tightly in his hand before mock rushing towards the female monster.

"Ha ha ha! You humans are so funny! You'll charge towards the jaws of death, even knowing there is no escape!" The creature screamed at him as Naruto ran towards her and quickly sent her lance to intercept him.

Naruto only smirked as she misjudged his speed and he passed by the lances harmlessly and was already on her.

The creature toothily smirked back, showing off her jagged set of shark like teeth, as she looked down at Naruto as her tail pierced through the ground and through him as if it was butter. But something was off; there was no blood as she did this. In fact, it was like it wasn't even...

Appearing behind her, ready to deliver the death blow, Naruto swung his kunai towards the back of her neck but with a quick burst of yoki the creature had managed to almost instantaneously jump from where she was to where she was twenty meters in front of him.

This caught the shinobi off guard as he had never seen something of such size move so quickly. He had seen Madara move that fast, but he had a technique that allowed him instantaneous movement and to fade out of the world.

As he landed, Naruto could only smirk as he noticed a small amount of purple blood on his kunai. "Ah, it seems those legs of yours can allow you to travel at break neck speeds... But if I'm right, it tires you out the more you use it as you used a whole lot of yoki..."

Naruto stopped as he mentioned the last word of his sentence. She could use yoki, meaning she wasn't a creation of the snake... Rather that she was actually a demon. But this once again caught him in a vice as the only demons he knew of were the nine bijuu and he knew this wasn't Shukaku as the damn tanuki looked nothing like this.

He was shook out of his mind as he dodged the lances sent towards him as the creature screamed at him once more. "What would you know, you little human?! Other then having a tight ass, you know nothing of what yoki is!"

With that one sentence, Naruto stopped and allowed the lances to graze his arms and chest and even pierce through his stomach. The creature had said the one thing that could trigger Naruto into a fury as his eyes suddenly bleed crimson and red yoki exploded around him.

Sand was kicked up into the air from the force yet the pull of the yoki brought it back and it swirled violently around him. The wind kicked up blowing the sand into the creature's face like that of a sandstorm's allowing to see and hear almost nothing. But there was one thing she heard that sent chills down her spine.

_**"I am more of a demon than you are!"**_

As soon as she heard that, the sand had begun to subside around her. Being able to see once more, she looked around for traces of the blonde haired teen but could find nothing.

Suddenly she found herself looking up towards the sky as she fell. As she fell, she noticed that there was a large object standing where she was just seconds ago. But something wasn't right. That wasn't the body of another awakened one... That was her body...

As she realized what happened, she caught glimpse of the blonde haired teen as he stood with his back turned to her and using the last of her strength, she calmly spoke. "I see... You are the true monster... Of the nine..."

Soon as the last word left her tongue, her head suddenly split into hundreds of pieces as purple blood stained the sand.

With a flick of his wrist, the blood of his kunai was flung off before he placed it back into his pouch. His wounds were no more than tears of his clothes as the burst of yoki had regenerated any damage he had taken.

His crimson eyes slowly began to fade away and revert back to their crystal blue color as he answered. "That may be... But I plan on staying human."

And with those last words, he walked into the direction he threw his compass, leaving the corpse of the creature behind.

* * *

Walking through the desert, a young woman with long, wavy platinum blonde hair walked besides a fairly young girl with long, light brown hair with a reddish tent to it.

The older of the two had pale skin that didn't seem to burn despite being in a desert.

She wore metallic shoulder pads with a white cape that reached her back and an armored skirt with a semi armored cloth shirt, probably meant to protect from lighter blows. She also wore a pair of boots with metallic casing on the foot yet not the ankle to hamper her movement.

Weirdly enough, she didn't even seem to be fazed by the heat despite the fact that she was wearing metallic armor in the middle of a desert.

But compared to all her other features, there were two that stood out beyond any other. It was her deep silver eyes that seemed to have an unnatural glow to them and the other was the overly large double edged sword she carried on her back.

The young girl standing besides her was not even half her size as she stood just even with her belly button.

She had on a brown, padded dress that seemed a little heavy to be wearing within the desert. She didn't show it, but it was a strain to walk through the desert because of the heat it attracted. But she stayed tough as she didn't want to slow down her caretaker.

Outside of her dress, she wore two fingerless gloves that stretched to just below her elbows. On her back, there was a small pack strapped onto her, so she could keep little things that she liked with her.

Looking up at her caretaker, she couldn't help but smile as she skipped lightly at her side. Just being around her made her happy and she didn't want to lose that feeling again.

Laughing silently as she saw this, the elder of the two females only shook her head as she patted the younger's head. "Calm down Clare. We've still got a day ahead of us before we reach the next village."

Clare nodded quickly while continuing to smile as she slowed her skip down to a walk. As soon as she did, however, a loud growl bellowed from her stomach, which resulted in her turning slightly red in embarrassment.

The elder of the two only rolled her eyes before stopping and looking around her. "Hm, guess you're hungry then. Well, there should be a lot of food to gather near the oasis. Hm... Now where is it from here? Oh yes, it only a few miles. By the time we get there, it should be nightfall though. Can you wait that long to eat, Clare?"

Once again, Clare nodded her head quickly before answering in a soft voice. "Hai. I can wait that long, Teresa."

Teresa only smiled at Clare and began to lead the way to the oasis as it was almost noon and they were still a good ten hours from the next village. It was quite different having the girl around as she only needed to eat something small every two days. But that was because she wasn't normal.

She was half human, half yoma created by a nameless organization to kill the yoma that fed on the humans. Not only that, but she was the best of every single half breed that the said organization created.

Well, she was the best. Now she was on the run from the same organization as she had broken the one rule the organization had given every half breed to prove they were there to protect, not to cause more death. She had slain humans, more specifically bandits that had targeted the town she had left the child at her side in.

The rule was ironclad and she could not escape the organization as she knew they would send everything they had after her. But she didn't care as all she wanted was to make Clare happy as long as they were together. She wasn't sure why as before she could have cared less about one human girl, but now it seemed as if she was her own child and she would die for her if she had to.

Suddenly, Teresa was broken out of her thoughts as a massive amount of yoki had appeared not too far from her location. She was a little worried as she instantly knew it was that of an Awakened Being. She knew she could handle the creature, but Clare was only a human child and could get dragged in and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

Keeping a close eye on the yoki and a hand ready to grab the claymore sheathed on her back, Teresa walked calmly besides Clare hoping the Awakened One would not come their direction. After a few moments, she was glad as it seemed to be staying in the area but this suddenly made her worry more as there could be travelers where it stopped and it was devouring their innards.

Still, as long as Clare was in possible danger, she would not leave her side to help them out. It was selfish and uncaring, but the little girl meant more to her than anything and she was going to make sure she lived as well as she could.

But as soon as that thought crossed her mind, a large burst of wind and sand began to blanket her and Clare, forcing her to cover and hold Clare tightly to her to keep her from blowing away from the ferocious winds. Her body began to tremble as a second yoki had emerged and this one was far beyond anything she had ever felt before.

Teresa wanted to say that it was an Abyssal One and nothing more, but this one's power was just too frightening to be an Abyssal One. While the amount that was being used was only a fraction of what she could feel from within. The raw power was just too overwhelming that she couldn't help but have a look of fear on her face.

Something with that much power... Scared her. And what made it worse was that she couldn't sense it till now. She had sensed the Awakened Being long before she was worried about it, but this one just came out of nowhere and was so powerful. She wasn't sure that the three Abyssal Ones combined could stand up to this... Monster.

But as soon as the sand and wind started blowing, it suddenly began to subside until there was no more yoki present. Slowly standing back onto her feet, she looked at Clare and had half a mind to pick the girl up and run as far away from the area she could. There was something there that's power surpassed anything else she could even think of.

However, with just one look at Clare's face, Teresa was able to smile as she helped the young girl up. She didn't know something truly monstrous was there and she would only alarm her if she picked her up and ran away. "Come on, Clare. We still have a little bit to go."

Seeing the young brown haired girl smile at her as she picked something up from the sand, Teresa could only smile back as she began to head for the oasis. She would protect the child with her life, even from the power she had just felt.

After all, she was living only for her.

* * *

It was sunset now and Naruto was unsure in which direction to head now, so he decided to make camp near an oasis that he had sniffed out. He had a cauldron on top of the fire as he began to heat the broth as he was planning to make ramen as it was still his favorite food and nothing could keep him away from it.

He was slightly ticked that he couldn't find his compass, but it was a desert after all and it was hard to find small object in a place like this. Something told him he wasn't in any charted desert in the Elemental Countries as encounters with demons outside of the nine hadn't happened ever since the Sage of the Six Paths had been alive. While it was possible he was still home, something was bothering him.

Where would such a demon hide for so long? And even if it could, one of the few things he knew was that the nine exterminated other demons as they were a threat to their food source, AKA humans. Sure, all nine were sealed away but with the high number of ninjas, it would have been spotted and exterminated by an elite task force.

So where exactly was he and why was the damn fox demon being so quiet about everything?!

Getting irritated at its silence, he sat in a meditate position and cleared his mind, concentrating only on entering his own mind. Within seconds, he found himself in the swampy darkness of his mind.

Knowing the path all too well, Naruto walked through the dimly lit, water filled halls towards his destination. The gate that held in Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Standing before it, Naruto brought his foot before kicking the main bars of the gate. In an instant, the fox demon's paw shot out and sliced by Naruto's head, shaving a few of the hairs on his head as he turned his body side ways.

Kyuubi snarled as he slowly withdrew his claws and glared heatedly at the blond haired human. He was getting far too bold for his liking and no longer even feared him. But at the same time, he was completely impressed with the blond as out of every human there was, he was the most fit to be his vessel.

**"What do you want, human?!"**

Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto gave Kyuubi a flat stare as his eyes glowed dimly. "You know what I want, fox. Now start explaining!"

Snarling loudly, Kyuubi wanted nothing more than to slice the human brat into two and devour his flesh. He could see the look in his eyes, the same look of the man that controlled him so long ago. And if there was one person that could ever make him feel fear, it was that man. And each and every day, the blond was becoming more and more powerful and less afraid of him.

When the time was right, he would make him pay for that. But as the way everything stood now, the human was the one with all the cards and he couldn't withhold what he knew without dire consequences. Growling that any human had any leverage on him, he lowered his head till he was eye level to Naruto to speak. **"I do know of how we are here, but I do not know what could have caused it, human."**

"Of course I know how we are here too. You fucking brought us here and I want to know why?!" Naruto countered as his chakra began to flare around him with dazzling strength.

Kyuubi was mildly impressed the blonde was stronger then any human he knew and he wished nothing more then to be free and fight him. It would be the first time in centuries that he would be challenged, but to his ire, he was stuck behind these bars.

**"Ha, good one, human. If I had done this, I would have told you. I benefit nothing from you being here, so therefore, there is no reason for me to bring you to such a forsaken place."** Kyuubi responded with a fanged grin as his dark crimson eyes bored into Naruto's blues.

Naruto was taken aback at what the fox had said before his eyes narrowed sharply. "If you didn't bring us here, what did?"

Scoffing at what the human had said, Kyuubi pulled his head away from the bars before turning away from Naruto. **"I do not know what it was that brought us here. All I know is that whatever it was calling for my power and dragged both of us here."**

Watching the fox lay down, Naruto frowned deeply. Something had called for the demon fox's power and therefore called upon him. He would have begun to question the fox about this, but a powerful presence caught both of their attention as it drew ever closer.

As Naruto exited his mind to see if the presence was a threat, Kyuubi smirked as he pawed the ground at the edge of the gate bars. **"So... It seems this world has beings capable of forcing the human to use more of my power. ...Excellent. I might just get out of here yet."**

* * *

**A/N2:** Well, there is the first chapter. I was thinking about adding more to it, but I'll save that for the next chapter. If you have any comments, questions or if you just want to say hello, leave a review and I'll try to get back to you ASAP on any questions you ask. Anyways, Peace out.


	2. The Meeting Part 2

**A/N:** Alright, here is the next chapter of A Red Dawn. Now I know a few of you our wondering why I'm doing a story with the Akatsuki's translation is the title. I'm not going to say a thing about it as it would ruin the ending, but it is really, really easy to understand if you remember what the Akatsuki's goal is (Not world domination) and why they call themselves the Akatsuki. Now that is over, I hope you enjoy this next chapter of A Red Dawn.

I Do Not Own Claymore or Naruto

* * *

Teresa knew there was someone at the oasis. It wouldn't have bothered her normally as she could handle almost any threat, though she was unsure if she could successfully defeat one of the three Abyssal Ones. While she at one point had fought an Awaken One nearly equal to an Abyssal One, it didn't have the experience of one of the true Abyssal Ones.

But with the burst of yoki she felt earlier had her worried not only for Clare's safety, but her own. The power she had sensed had dwarfed her own by far by light years and even in a thousand years, she doubted she could come anywhere close to the power of that being.

However, Clare was still as energetic as she ever was and didn't know there was a possible threat looming around in the area. That in its own had made Teresa feel a little better and she was sure that if it came down to it, she could get Clare out of trouble. She wanted to continue on and move to a different campsite, but this was the best area to camp as it was the easiest to defend and detect a possible threat.

Still, she would need to stay vigilant to make sure whoever this person happened to be wasn't the one with the great yoki she had sensed earlier.

The oasis overall wasn't that much, but the peninsula was probably the best place to camp in the desert as it was right by the water and the only place that had a decent amount of wildlife nearby. It had a few palm trees and thickets to give it a somewhat tropical look.

Carefully leading Clare, Teresa silently moved towards the camp when a strange knife like weapon stuck into the tree besides her.

"Who's there?!" Naruto's voiced sounded and despite the situation it was calm and collected.

Teresa had to wonder how she was sensed so easily. Even with Clare with her, she was not easily sensed as the girl had a good deal of stealth to her even in her worn out condition. If she didn't know better, she would have believed the girl to be another warrior in the making for the organization.

Still, the distance between her and the man that had set this camp was easily thirty meters away and he was right on the money with his aim as if she had taken another step forward, it would have struck her between the eyes. It made her wonder if this was a really good idea and if they should continue on and forget about stopping.

She threw that thought out as she looked at Clare and could tell the girl was ready to pass out if she didn't get something to eat soon. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward with one hand in front of her to signify she wasn't a threat as the other hand led Clare the thickets. "Sorry about the intrusion, but this is the only good camping ground for about ten miles and my little girl needs to rest as she can't make the rest of the walk to the closest town."

Naruto frowned as he could clearly read the yoki flowing through her system and instantly came to the conclusion that she was a demon. But now that he could see the young girl besides her and getting a good look at her through the camp fire, he took back his thought. At the most, she was a half demon if not a vessel for one of the demons he had ran into not to long ago.

Putting away another kunai he had at the ready to defend himself, he motioned her to come over with a slight nod towards him. "No problem and help yourselves as there are plenty of fish here. I'm just a little weary of another one of those creatures attacking me again."

Teresa's entire body froze as he said this. Oh she did not like what he had said in that one sentence. She had only sensed one Awakened Being in the entire area and it was quickly extinguished by a far greater yoki then anything she had ever felt before.

And it wasn't helping that she couldn't get a clear reading on him as a mysterious, yet familiar energy was surrounding him in great force. She was sure that if she a correct reading from that energy alone that he was equally matched with her in raw energy.

But she was over analyzing this at the moment. He by no means was an Awakened One as they only contained yoki and nothing else. She had begun to notice that humans had there own energy source no matter how little it was. Taking a quick look at Clare, she could see the same type of energy surrounding the young girl as the young man they just ran into.

This made her worry even more as a human with the ability to grow their energy to such an extant was unheard of and to have their aura match that of a former number one was even more worrisome. And if he did have access to yoki, which if he did it was very well hidden, did that make him a warrior of the past that had lasted this long without the organization knowing?

Naruto was beginning to wonder what was taking so long with the woman to answer. It was a simple I'll join you or not and it seemed that she was stopping to think about it. 'No, she isn't thinking about stopping... She's gauging me to see if I'm a threat. Hn, good call. I don't know myself at times anymore.'

Still, the little girl seemed to be on the verge of passing out and wasn't looking too good at the moment. It seemed that she was straining herself beyond her limit, probably not to slow down her caretaker. Even if she wasn't going to stop by, he wasn't letting the little girl go without something to eat. He was still a Good Samaritan and couldn't let someone suffer if he could help it.

Checking the couple of fish he had cooking on wooden stakes in the fire, he took the largest one he had of the group and made sure it was thoroughly cocked before standing up and walking towards them. This action of course had the platinum blonde on guard and ready to draw the giant blade she carried with her, but he simply ignored her as he squatted down besides the young girl. "Here you go. You look like you could use this more then I can."

While Teresa was caught of guard by this action, Clare looked up at the young man and into the eyes. She really did want the fish as she was quite hungry, but for some reason Teresa seemed to be hesitant and she was going to be as well. But with one look in the eyes, she gently took the fish from him before biting in hungrily before almost dropping it as she painfully swallowed the bite.

Naruto chuckled at the girl before he smiled softly at her. "Oh, be careful. It is quite hot. Maybe you should let it cool for a little bit."

Seeing the young girl smile back at him, Naruto chuckled again before heading back towards the fire and pulling out the other fish out of the open flame and stabbing the wooden end into the ground. Clare followed after him and attempted to do the same and succeeded, mostly because of the soft sand near the water.

Teresa was unsure what to think as she watched Clare follow the young man's example. For some reason, she was taking to him quite well and it seemed that he was more then happy to have company before she began to reason with herself after getting a good look at him.

The black cloak he wore seemed to be dusted while he a red cape folded at his side that seemed to have a few holes in it. He had the cloak unbuttoned so she could see that he wore a dark black shirt underneath and a pair of bright orange pants underneath. His clothing was rather odd for being in a desert as she was quite sure it would get overly hot and unless he could control his own body temperature she wasn't sure how he could not be sweat after being in the sun for so long.

His blonde hair seemed to be a little dusted and matted down but she could tell that if he washed his hair it would be naturally spiky. The band he wore on his forehead with a metallic patch in the front seemed to have a large gash through a leaf like symbol. And finally the red clouds that were variously scattered across his cloak were faded which led her to believe that he had been on a long and harsh journey.

So it would be natural that he was lonely if he been on his own for a while and getting to talk to someone for a little while was refreshing. She knew the feeling all too well as after a long time of slaying Yoma and saying the same things over and over again, she really got bored as there was no one to talk to and she would willingly go on hunts for Awakened Beings just to talk to other warriors.

Slowly but surely, she seated herself next to the fire as she watched Clare begin to devour the rather large fish he had given her. She couldn't help but smile at her when suddenly he handed her an average sized fish. "Here you go. You're probably hungry as well."

While that was indeed true as she hadn't eaten in a few days, she really didn't trust him all too much right now. While he seemed to be a kind person and even was enjoying their company, she had to stay on guard just in case as she was quite sure he was the one with the great yoki she had felt earlier as now she could see as clear of day, small wisps of yoki traveling within his energy stream.

"No thanks. I'm not that hungry right now." Teresa responded with a rather neutral voice, really not wanting to have anything to do with him.

Seeing this, Naruto shrugged before spiking the wooden stake into the ground in front of her. "Alright then, I'll just leave it here for you if you get hungry. I have to catch another couple of fish anyways."

Teresa twitched lightly at this but took the fish nonetheless. She didn't want to waste the food if he was going to catch a couple other fish for himself. It only irritated her more that he seemed to be smiling as she pulled the fish from the stake and took a small bite out of it.

Shaking his head, reminding himself not to purposely piss this woman off as she would more then likely attempt to decapitate him with that giant sword of hers, he walked towards the calm waters of the oasis before focusing chakra to his eyes so he could get a better glimpse of the fish in the water.

Finding the two he wanted, he took aim with a kunai with some wire attached to it and waited for the exact moment the two crossed each others paths. In that second, he let his kunai fly and it pierced through both easily before it embedded itself into something much larger in the bottom of the oasis.

Wondering what this was, Naruto yanked on it slightly only to feel it yank back. This only made him wonder what the hell was at the bottom even more and was about to go in when he noticed the line suddenly became slack. Beginning to really wonder what this was, he began to real in his line faster then before he slowly began to see what it was that he caught.

Suddenly a six foot alligator launched itself from the water with its jaws opened and ready to clamp onto Naruto's torso.

It never had a chance to bite down as it suddenly went slack with a kunai driven into the skull and another into the jaw, pinning them shut so it could open it mouth to try and get one last bite off. Watching the light in its eyes slowly disappear, Naruto pulled his kunai off before dipping them into the water to wash off the blood.

As Clare was in shock at what she saw, Teresa was very surprised at the reflexes and the precise strikes from such small weapons. Albeit, her claymore really wouldn't have needed to be a precise strike to kill such an animal, it would have hardly been quick enough to allow such a fast striking creature get so close to kill.

She knew he had let it in on purpose once he realized what it was and no longer cared for the fish as he wanted something with more meat on it. She just wasn't sure that gator meat was all that great as she heard from a few of the other warriors that gator was the last thing they would eat and would avoid it at all costs.

But he caught her off guard again as he simply reeled in the fish he had caught with his kunais before kicking the gator back into the water, letting it sink to the bottom. Figuring he was thinking along the same lines as her fellow warriors, she shrugged it off before she took a bite off the fish he had given her.

Clare quickly got over it as well having seen Teresa dispatch yoma so easily that she thought that it wasn't too abnormal for someone else to kill a rather larger and fast predator. Picking up the fish she had dropped and wiping off some of the sand that got on it, she began to happily devour the fish once more while Naruto gutted his fish, getting it ready to cook.

As soon as the young girl had finished, Naruto had his fish set into the fire and was sitting back, watching them to make sure they didn't burn. Throwing the bones aside as she was sure it wasn't going to hurt anything before she remembered the thing she picked up when the freak sandstorm had hit.

Taking it out of her pouch, she walked over to Naruto and held it out to him. "Is this yours mister?"

Looking at what she was handing him, Naruto chuckled softly as he now knew the reason why he didn't find his compass. This little girl had it. Taking it and putting the compass into his pouch. "Yeah, its mine. But it doesn't work so I don't see what use it is as I have no clue where I am so I can get back home. ...And call me Naruto. Mister makes me sound... Old."

"I'm Clare!" Clare stated the name Teresa had chosen for her proudly. While it was her true name, she liked it even more as her mentor and caretaker gave her the same name.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle once more at the girl's energy. She definitely would be a handful to take care of but she seemed to be worth it and probably was why she was traveling with his fellow blonde.

His eyes wandered to the person of his thoughts and only shook his head as she seemed to be giving him a dirty look, probably because Clare wasn't a talkative child and she was attempting to talk his ear off as she spoke again. "I'm sure the village Teresa and I are heading to has someone that can fix it. Why don't you come with us so you can get it fixed tomorrow?!"

He could see Teresa was twitching at Clare's words and his old instinct was coming back and he wanted to accept just to tick her off some more, but he knew better then to do this. So he had to politely decline. "Sorry, but even if I get it fixed it wouldn't help me get back home. I don't even know where I am or if I'm even on the same continent that my home is."

This caught Teresa attention quickly as she was sure there was other lands out there, they just couldn't find them. It would also explain why he used such foreign weaponry and his clothes were so different from what most people wore around not just here, but around the continent. It also explained why he had both human energy and yoki. Maybe on a different land, the one he was from, that wasn't too uncommon and it was there form of self defense.

But seeing the look on Clare's face when he said he couldn't brought her down a little. Clare seemed to be enjoying his company and the same could be said for him. And honestly, she had no reason to say no as he had been nothing but kind to them since they arrived, outside of the throwing knife as he wasn't sure if she was a threat or not.

Sighing as she knew she would regret this later, Teresa spoke. "It wouldn't be too much trouble if you came along with us for a little bit as Clare is obviously enjoying your company. And it wouldn't hurt to have someone else look after her as we continue to journey. So just come with us tomorrow and see what happens. If they can't help, we'll just take you to another village and see if they can."

Having the blonde speak to him, trying to convince him to go with them, Naruto had a little less doubts about going with them. Honestly, he didn't see a reason not to as he had no clue where that said village was and didn't know where any village was at that. But the main reason he wanted to go, truthfully, was to spend a little more time with Clare. He could already tell she was fun to be around and he hadn't laughed this much in a long time.

"Alright," Naruto responded to Teresa as he pulled the smaller of the two fish he caught out of the fire, "I'll head out with you tomorrow but I can't promise you that I'll stay with you too long. I've never been very good company to take along."

Once again, Clare was ecstatic and hoped around a few times before she was sitting besides Naruto, holding up one of his kunai to him. "What is this?"

Teresa could only smile as she saw the look of disbelief on his face as she asked him that question. Clare was a curious one after all.

* * *

It took a couple of hours, but Clare had finally fallen asleep leaving Naruto very exhausted after explaining to her what everything was.

He was rather astonished that she didn't know what a kunai and shuriken was so that confirmed it for him that he was in a different land. It was doubly confirmed when she didn't know what a ninja was, which almost caused Naruto to have a heart attack, and was mostly what he was trying to explain to her when she fell asleep.

However, Teresa did not fall asleep and had listened very carefully to what Naruto had said. What disturbed her most was that in his land almost everyone seemed to have his kind of power and if that was the case; what could have caused them to develop such a power? Sure one man led to the awakening of 'chakra', but what could have caused the need of it?

As she tried to piece all of what he said together, Naruto sighed as he took off his red cape with black flames before wrapping it around the sleeping girl as the temperature began to plummet. He was quite surprised it was getting this cold, but he knew deserts had the most unpredictable climate on the planet so it wasn't a shock to him.

Pulling out a sleeping back from a scroll, which was one thing he had gone over to explain to Clare what happened to the kunai he used to kill the gator, he unrolled it and began to press the ground, making sure he wouldn't be too uncomfortable as he slept.

Looking over towards Teresa, he frowned lightly before sighed as he knew she was trying to put together some of the things he had said despite not having the entire picture. "You can stop now. You don't know everything about my world and even if you did, you wouldn't completely understand it. It just isn't a world that can be entirely understood and we like to keep it that way."

Teresa didn't like that she had been told to stop trying put together dead ends, but he had a valid point. Even people from his world that knew more then others could not wholly comprehend it. Besides, it wasn't like she was trying to find a new place to...

She stopped her thoughts as that was exactly what she was looking for. She was looking for a new place to live where the organization could not come after her so she could live in peace with Clare and watch the young girl grow up. And if that world happened not to have yoma, it would be even better. Now the fact that these ninja apparently waged wars with one another was a bother, but humanity would never completely get along with one another and war always seemed to be the last resort.

And if he was trying to go back home, maybe she could go back with him and leave this world once and for all. And even if they failed to find his home, maybe they find somewhere else that the organization doesn't have influence and she could settle there. It was always worth a shot.

"Naruto... I have a proposition for you." Teresa spoke, unsure how to word what she wanted to ask him.

"I'm listening." Naruto responded simply as he walked down to the waters edge and filled a canteen from his pouch, getting ready for tomorrow, before walking over back to the fire and sitting across from Teresa.

Teresa nodded, knowing as much. She just wasn't sure how she wanted to come out and say it without it making seem like she was using him. After a few moments, she came out and said it. "I know the layout of this land well and I will take you to the port cities to help you on your search for home. I to want to leave this place, so helping you find your home can only help me."

"...But I need some help with Clare to. She is a handful at times and won't tell me when she is tired even if it is obvious that she is. You seemed to be better with children then I am so if you can help, I would be very appreciative of that." Naruto nodded as it seemed like a fair trade off as he was so far enjoying the company of the little girl. But the next thing Teresa said even caught him off guard.

"And I know my time is running thin, so if I die before we can get you home... I want you to take care of her for me. She really seems to take a liking to you and if anyone can enjoy her life as a human... It would be you as it seems that you can keep a balance between you and your demon."

Of all things to throw Naruto off, she had to pick two of the things that could do it. Death and Kyuubi.

Seeing the look of absolute surprise when she mentioned his demon, Teresa figured that he hadn't expected her to figure it out. But after his little speech of sealing, she knew it was possible to seal beings like that of a yoma into a human without them becoming a half yoma like those the organization created. And after seeing the small pulses of yoki in his chakra system, she knew he had a demon sealed within him.

"Don't be too surprised. The powers of our warrior powers have a lot of similarities to your ninjas and I happen to excel in reading energy and could see the yoki flares in your system." Teresa quickly added on after seeing his face.

After hearing this, Naruto felt slightly better but still was quite worried that someone else had learned of Kyuubi. Well, she didn't know of the fox demon. She just knew that he had a demon sealed within him. She just didn't know it happened to be the strongest of all demons.

Shaking his head of that as he had to put that aside for now, he looked back at Teresa with a slight frown on his face. "What exactly makes you think that you're going to die any time soon? And I just met you and Clare today, what makes you think that I have any capability in raising a kid when I've just turned eighteen only a month ago? And for all you know I could be some kind of rapist and take the girl for my toy or something like that?"

Teresa only smirked at him as he ranted to her before she calmly answered him. "I think you would do find because you are raising up all these questions and a person that could do any of those things wouldn't ask them and just do them. And sure, you may be young but out here someone of your age is already a parent as people live in fear of the yoma as the next day they could be in the after life."

"As for why I know my time is coming to end is because warriors like me are under the control of the organization that creates us half breeds to kill the yoma. I am on the run because I broke the most sacred of the rules they place on us and the only one they really care that we uphold and killed humans..." At the end, Teresa was almost silent as the grave but Naruto clearly heard her.

"If that was the only rule that you had to keep, why did you break it?" Naruto asked as he clearly didn't understand why she would do such a thing. He had a feeling it had to do with Clare, but he would wait to hear her answer.

Sighing softly, Teresa unsheathed her claymore from her back before she began to sharpen it. After a few moments, she spoke softly as she continued working on her sword. "It all started when I saved Clare from her nightmare as a yoma was using her as a toy while moving town to town. She followed me when I left that village and we ran into a group of bandits. I instinctively sliced one of their arms off thinking them to be yoma at first... Anyways, after they left as they couldn't stand being around one like myself, I tried to get rid of Clare."

"She was persistent and followed me forcing me to take care of her as if the bandits found her dead in the wild, they could have blamed me for her death and the organization would want my head. Later on, the bandit whose arm I sliced off followed us and attempted to rape me as I could not retaliate. Clare tried to defend me and I forced him to leave by threatening him with death as at the moment, I really didn't care if I lived or died."

Naruto's face twisted at the story so far, but he continued listening as he was quite sure it was going to take a while for her to finish.

"But afterwards, Clare spoke for the first time and after listening to her... I became to care for her. But I couldn't take care of her as she was a human and belong with other humans. So when I took her to the village and slaid the yoma there, I asked for someone to take care of her for me. She tried to convince me to let her stay with me, but I eventually convinced her to stay."

"After I left the village and Clare... I came across the same bandits who were going to raid the village that I just came from because the yoma was no longer protecting them. Fearing for Clare's safety, I quickly chased after them but it was too late and the village was in ruins. That's when I saw the same man that had attempted to rape me dragging Clare behind him before telling me he was going to do the same to her. ...Then I snapped and killed every single one of those bastards for what they did as in that moment... They were lower then any yoma."

Naruto couldn't help but agree with what she had done. Anyone he knew would have done the same in her position as mostly every ninja had their own honor system and bandits that raped and pillaged were the single most detest people in their minds. That why it wasn't uncommon for jounin to willingly go on C-class missions, even if it was with gennin. They just wanted to rid a few more cretins of the world.

But seeing Teresa wasn't quite finished, Naruto continued listening as she continued on.

"Afterwards, my personal agent had brought five warriors to execute the law on me while taking Clare hostage. ...At first I was just going to let them do their job as I had indeed broken the rule we were all brought up not to break... But after hearing Clare scream, I couldn't and I severely injured each of those warriors before taking Clare back... And now I know they'll be sending everyone they have that can have any chance against me, after me."

"That is why I need someone to take care of Clare as I know the organization is training a new number one right now, just to kill me." At the end, Teresa's eyes darkened to the point that her silver eyes almost seemed to be black.

Being told more then enough, Naruto could only nod before he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, bringing her back from her dark thoughts. "Alright... I'll take care of Clare... If that happens."

Teresa looked up at Naruto strangely as he said this. "What do you mean if? It isn't a possibility; it is going to happen if I can't leave these lands fast enough."

Naruto could only smirk at her as he walked over to his sleeping back before creating a clone of himself.

While this surprised Teresa greatly, she kept her eyes on Naruto as he slowly pulled off his cloaked and folded it neatly and laid it on the ground to be used as a pillow. As he did this he turned to her with an even larger smirk then before. "I'm saying it is a possibility now as I'm the leader of the Red Dawn for a reason."

Teresa was more confused then ever as he said this as she didn't know what the 'Red Dawn' was in the first place. But when he said it, she could feel and see the power around him increase dramatically before it quickly faded back to normal.

And that alone made her realize this 'Red Dawn' was something not to be screwed with.

* * *

"Okay, why are you two hiding in those cloaks?" Naruto asked Teresa and Clare as the three neared the village.

Teresa sighed in an annoyed tone as she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, but more importantly she hid the color of her eyes. "Because if they find out I am a half breed, we won't be able to stay there in peace and honestly, I rather sleep on a bed then on the ground tonight... Even if I can't become comfortable I want to at least have a damn bed."

Nodding in understanding, he pulled out a straw hat and put it on, tipping it just right so no one could see his face. He could feel Teresa twitch madly at him and he could only smirk as if he was going to be staying with them for a while, he couldn't keep himself from irritating her. It was just something he liked to do and it seemed all women were susceptible to it.

"You don't have to hide yourself! You already look more conspicuous then we do but adding that hat takes the cake! We're trying to have people avoid us, not notice us!" Teresa refrained from yelling at him as he was getting on her nerves already and they had only been walking for a few hours.

Of course it wasn't helping that Clare was giggling and siding with him. "But I like the way he looks. It looks cool."

Teresa just sighed in frustration before walking off; leaving the two behind her, lightly laughing to themselves as they followed the highly annoyed half breed.

As they entered the village, both Naruto and Teresa instantly knew something was wrong as every single villager seemed to be surrounding something and due to their ability to detect/see yoki they both knew what all the commotion was about. Getting a closer look, at what was going on by moving near the front, both frowned as they saw a large yoma gripping a young boy by collar as he looked around at the villagers, daring them to come and try to do something about it.

Naruto was ready to do so it seemed to be taunting him and no one got away with taunting him. Except Jiraiya; he died before he could pay back the toad sage.

However, he was stopped as Teresa grabbed his sleeve tightly. "Don't... If you save the boy things will get out of hand as you aren't one of us. I didn't tell you about this before, but if the organization was to learn of your existence, bad things would happen as they would stop at nothing to either use you or eliminate your existence."

"I would like to see them try. No one has been able to do that so far." Naruto countered back as he tried to break her grip but failed as she gripped his sleeve tighter.

Sighing to herself as he wasn't going to listen to her and take the yoma out anyways, she turned back to Clare and gave her a half hearted smile. "Do you mind if we sleep outside for another day?"

Clare instantly shook her head as she didn't mind whatsoever as long as the boy in the yoma's grip would get help.

"Well, damn it." Teresa said to herself before letting go of Naruto's sleeve before throwing off her cloak, revealing herself to the crowd as she walked over towards the yoma, one hand on her hip.

"A Claymore!"

"Why is a Claymore here?!"

"Don't ask me! Why would I know?!"

Naruto frowned as he heard this and had to wonder why they were calling Teresa a Claymore. He knew her sword was indeed a claymore sword, but outside of that why in the hell would they call her a Claymore? Deciding to wait and ask her later, he tipped his hat upwards a bit before Clare suddenly spoke to him. "Don't blink otherwise you'll miss it."

Blinking as he wasn't sure why she had said that, he turned to Teresa in wonder as he hadn't been told that. Ever.

Ignoring the villagers' words, Teresa stopped a few meters from the yoma as a slight smile began to build on her face. Wanting to get out some of her pent up aggression that Naruto had been building, she began to taunt the yoma. "Ah damn it. Why did you have to show up and ruin my chance of relaxing? Are you just asking for one of us to come and slice off your head because I'm here now?"

The yoma was seriously getting agitated by Teresa's words. He had dealt with a Claymore before but he had barely gotten out while the rest of the yoma there were utterly destroyed by the single blonde haired bitch. However, this one was just getting on his nerves and seeing that she was screwing with a possible meal, he was going to make her pay.

Faster then the human eye could see, he let go of the boy and charged Teresa, planning on decapitating her with the first blow.

But in a blink of an eye, Teresa was behind the yoma and flicking the purple blood of her blade. Just as she did that, the yoma suddenly burst into an even two pieces, spurting blood all around yet mysteriously avoiding Teresa who was only a few feet away.

Naruto was highly impressed with the display he had seen from the platinum blonde. She moved very quickly and her aim, despite the size of the sword, was precise. And just from that one display of ability he gagged her overall ability within seconds and knew exactly where she ranked to him in terms of ability.

And to be honest, Naruto wouldn't want to face her in battle. He knew he could win, but the blonde would be equal to and possibly better then Pein was before he passed on. And to face someone of that caliber... Well let's say he wouldn't look forward to it as Pein was one of his hardest battles ever.

As she made sure there was no blood on her claymore, Teresa sheathed her sword and was ready to call for Naruto and Clare to leave when the crowd suddenly burst into cheers. This surprised Teresa as she had never been cheered after dispatching a yoma before. And to be frank, she kind of liked the feeling.

Watching the boy run over to his parents, who were crying and holding onto their boy for dear life, she smiled softly before who she assumed to be the village leader walked over. "Oh thank goodness you came! I don't know what we would have done as we didn't pay for the last time we called! What can we do to thank you for showing up and saving the boy?!"

Teresa could only blink as she heard the man speak and had to wonder why they didn't pay last time. The village didn't seem to be that broke and could afford the price of one single yoma head. So either there was a bad dealing or the warrior did something to piss off the villagers.

Shaking that off, she was about to answer when Naruto walked besides Teresa and wrapped his arm around her waist before speaking in a boisterous tone. "Yes, my wife and I would like a place to stay for the night for us and our daughter before we continue on with our traveling. Also, if you happen to have anyone here that can fix a compass and a good bar, can you please show me where they are? I need to stock up on my liquor supplies."

Ticks were growing out of Teresa's temples for each word that came out of his mouth. She swore if he hadn't stopped where he did, she would have killed him. It was bad enough that they were taking advantage of these people, but why in the hell did he have to tell them that they were married?! To make it worse, it seemed that Clare was playing along with him.

"Mom, wow that was so cool!" Clare commented loudly, trying to mimic Naruto as she was enjoying the fact that Naruto was so fun to be around.

"Ah yes, we have plenty of rooms available and I'll make sure you will get the best! And we have a bar right across from the hotel so it shouldn't be too hard to find!" The village elder spoke excitedly as if Naruto's energy was contagious and affecting him as well. "But, we don't have anyone here that can fix a compass, but we have a few maps if you like?"

"That'll be fine. Now leads us to our room my good man!" Naruto answered with a shit eating grin as he could just tell Teresa was ready to hit him. But she seemed to be holding back for some reason that he couldn't understand.

As the village elder began to walk towards the hotel with Naruto and Clare following him, Teresa visibly twitched. Oh she regretted ever asking him to come along with them as she was going to kill this guy before it was all over.

Nice and slow.

* * *

"So this is where she is?" A woman with short, spiky, platinum blonde hair spoke as she stood just outside the village where Naruto, Teresa and Clare were in with three others that were wearing the exact same clothing as Teresa was.

"It seems that way, Noel. But why would she just stay here? She knows she is on the run." The woman standing besides her answered. Her hair was rather odd as it only reached the top of her neck in the back while gradually getting longer as it neared her face.

The woman standing in front of both of them with straight, long hair and elven like ears and face looked on towards the town with a scowl on her face. "She knows she is, but she doesn't care. She believes she can beat us, Sophia."

"Well Irene," Noel spoke in a low voice as she stretched lightly, "Teresa has beaten all of us in the past when we challenged her for the number one spot and I hate to say it, but she beat me pretty easily. For once, I don't think we have a good chance of succeed as this is Bishou no Teresa we are talking about."

Irene refused to even nod at Noel's response even if it was the truth. She had never liked that Teresa had always defeated her every time she had thought she was better then her. But now she had to hunt her down and if it wasn't for the last individual in their group, she would have rather become a traitor then take on Teresa.

Turning back to the last member of the group, she motioned for her to step forward. "But we have a secret weapon this time... Do you know the plan, Priscilla?"

"Hai." The youngest of the four spoke as her hair gently waved in the wind.

Irene nodded before turning to the village, her eyes set dead on where she knew Teresa was. "Then let's end this... Teresa's life will be taken today."

* * *

**A/N2:** Well, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of A Red Dawn and now I hope you see at least one of the reasons I'm calling it by that title. As for why Naruto has the Akatsuki cloak and is even the leader, that will be explained in the distant future. This story already has over forty plan chapters and I'm not sure I want to end it where my notes end or not. So with that said, a lot of things will take some time to be explained.


	3. Marked for Death

**A/N:** I am very thankful to my readers as after two chapters, this story has done far better then I ever expected. Because of this unexpected turn of events (and because Claymore is my favorite manga), this story has move to my number one project. While this is a rather quick update... I have a lot of free time. So for you that love this story, like it or whatever, expect to see quicker (or at least regular) updates for this story. Anyways, here is the next chapter for you to enjoy.

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore

* * *

"Damn… I've never seen so many different liquors. I don't know which ones to pick!" Naruto exclaimed as he looked over all the bottles, cans and kegs of alcohol that the barkeeper kept.

Teresa had let him go out to do what he needed to do, probably just to get him out of her hair. However, when he asked her for some money she threw this back at his head before pushing him out of the room and locking the door behind. He knew the bag contained money but he didn't know how many of the small gold bars he would need. All he knew was that Teresa said it was more then enough to get whatever he wanted.

Pulling out a handful of the gold before dropping them on the counter, Naruto looked over at the barkeep. "How much will this buy?"

The said owner of the bar just looked at the money on the counter before looking up at Naruto before back to the money. "Boy, that is enough beras that you can buy whatever the hell you want!"

Naruto blinked a few times hearing this before shaking his head as he looked over the selection before he started picking some out. "I would like a crate of sake if you have it, three bottles of your best red wine and one of your white, two six packs of every type beer you have. Oh, I have to have two bottles of the best damn tequila you have here and a bottle of the most powerful whiskey you got. …And if you have any high quality bourbon, add that in there to."

Everyone in the bar just looked at Naruto as he was insane except for the barkeep. He seemed overjoyed to get the said items as he was easily getting over a couple thousand beras over what was truly needed to pay for what the young man was asking for.

As the alcohol began to pile up on the counter, Naruto began to wonder how he was going to carry all this liquor back with him without showing off any of his abilities. Normally he would have sealed them away and walked back to the hotel and not worry about it. However, his abilities would shock those of this world and as Teresa said, it would be best to keep them a secret for now.

Just as the barkeeper brought in the crate of sake from the back, Naruto had a large bead of sweat falling from the back of his head before he turned to the people in the bar. "Um, I'll pay anyone that will help me carry this back to my room."

Naruto sighed as the few people there gave him the dirtiest look possible making him want to put a shuriken between their eyes. Shaking his head, he found his liquor was suddenly put in a wheel barrel by the barkeeper making the blonde wonder how much he actually paid him as this service was a little ridiculous.

But as long as he had his supplies of alcohol, he didn't care whatsoever. Now he just hoped Teresa didn't kill him for overpaying for his stock of booze.

* * *

Teresa was twitching severely when Naruto entered the room with a wheel barrel full of alcohol. The trouble he caused today was bad enough, but the amount of liquor he brought back suggested that he was either an alcoholic or he was planning on getting her drunk and do something later that night. She had to go with both explanations as the blonde was entirely unpredictable and she had to suspect both.

However, when he started sealing them away into his scrolls leaving only the sake behind, Teresa could only twitch more. She just couldn't peg anything on the blonde without him suddenly doing something completely different then what she thought.

Sighing to herself, she gently lifted Clare's head off her lap and laid her down onto the bed. As she was about to reach over to the other bed for a blanket, Naruto walked over to the bed before laying his red cape over the young girl. She gave him a slight stare at this before she smiled softly seeing Clare's content face.

Shaking her head and sighing, Teresa turned towards the blonde haired enigma as he pulled a bottle of sake out of the crate and taking out a map out of his pouch. Seating herself at the table, as Naruto laid the map out on it; she tapped the desert located on the south-center of the continent. "We are located within this desert."

Naruto nodded as he sat down in front of the map before taking a swig of his sake. His entire body twitched for a moment before he looked at the rice wine with new respect. "Whoa… This has a kick to it. Obaa-chan would have loved this stuff…"

"So your grandmother was a drinker to?" Teresa retorted as she reached out and took a bottle from his crate, pretty sure he wouldn't mind as there was plenty of the stuff.

"Oh yeah, she got me hooked on this stuff when I was thirteen and I've been drinking ever since." Naruto replied as he took another swig as he looked at the map a little more before sighing. "Just great. I really have no clue where the hell I am or how to get back home."

Teresa was a little surprised at Naruto's comment about him drinking since he was thirteen and had to wonder what kind of grandmother he had to allow such a thing. Shaking that off as he spoke again, she took a sip of the sake and was taken aback as it had one hell of a punch to it. "It really isn't surprising. We don't know anything about the worlds outside of our own even though people like me are confident they are there."

Nodding in understanding and downing his bottle before tossing it into the trash can, Naruto sighed as he rolled up the map. "That is just great. I just _love _a challenge."

It didn't take a genius to catch the sarcasm in his voice and Teresa couldn't really blame him. She would be highly irritated if she was in his position as well. Plus from what she gathered, he was rather important as he was the leader of this Red Dawn organization and his strength was uncanny just making her wonder what his organization did anyways.

Sighing as she took another drink, this time with less of a reaction, she looked over at Clare before shaking her head as she turned back to the blonde. "Your best bet to get any information of the outside worlds is to sneak within the organization and find out what they know. However, if you were to do such a thing I would not be able to go."

Catching a glimpse of what she was looking at, Naruto understood her reason for not going all too well. She would have to leave Clare behind and she couldn't do that. While he wasn't sure what the girl was to the woman, he knew she was very important to her and she would die to protect her.

As he was about to get up and pull out another bottle of sake from the crate, he stopped as he could sense something was coming. He wasn't the only one as Teresa had sensed it as well and had quickly hid herself from view as she closed her eyes.

Naruto was trying to figure out what she was doing at first before he began to notice that her yoki was slowly being concealed. While it was a good attempt, it wasn't going fast enough to keep herself from being detect as he began to sense that it was more then one thing coming. It was four people coming and if he had to guess, it was four warriors coming for Teresa.

Frowning as he remembered what she had said last night, he went to wake Clare up when Teresa stopped her attempt to suppress her yoki. "Don't… I know they have found me. Just let her rest and keep her from trying to get involved if she does wake up. I'll deal with my hunters."

"Don't get cocky." Naruto replied as he closed his cloak before he created a clone of himself and had it stand besides Clare. "We've made a deal and I don't plan on having to take care of Clare on my own any time soon."

Teresa growled at Naruto response as she kept her yoki restrained. Something about him just wanted to make her release some of her yoki to either intimidate him or make him back down. Calming herself down, she stood in the middle of the room before and firmly put on her metallic pads. "There is no need to be concerned. I've beaten the three they have sent many times and I know I can beat them together."

Hearing what she said, Naruto looked at her for a moment before a small smirk crossed his face as she pulled up a chair and sat in the middle of the room, as if she was waiting for someone. "Then what about the forth one, the one that is suppressing her yoki to the limit?"

For one of the few times in her life, Teresa was caught off guard. She had always been able to sense yoki no matter how well it was suppress. Even when she had met the woman during her training, she could tell she was one of them despite that there was the smallest trace of yoki escaping her body. But now, there was someone here that she could not sense. No, she could sense her now but it was very, very faint.

Looking over at Naruto, she frowned as he was able to sense her before even she was and that left her in a jam. While she was still very confident she could beat all four of them, the potency of the forth, the same one she had missed, was surprising. It was as if she was a number one in training…

Realizing that exactly what she was, she turned her head towards the door and got ready to welcome the oncoming warrior. "Alright… Just make sure you keep Clare out of this. Let me handle this woman and if anyone tries to attack me from behind, take care of them."

Giving her a slight nod, he ordered his clone to take Clare out of the room and just as the clone left the door opened to reveal a woman wearing the same outfit Teresa had on, plus the metallic skirt pieces that Teresa forsook, with straight, platinum blonde hair and elf-like features.

"Ah, it's you Irene!" Teresa mach greeted as she grinned at the elf-like woman before she became a little more serious. "It has been too long. I hope you have been doing okay… Shall I say the Number Three?"

Irene frowned deeply at her old friend. Even knowing her abilities almost as well as Teresa did, she could not believe she had sensed Priscilla so easily. "It has been too long Teresa; however, I am here for your head. But before that, may I know how you sensed our forth member? I know that you couldn't have unless someone else…"

"Can I offer you some sake my Elvin beauty?" Naruto's voice interrupted Irene's as he pulled out a bottle of sake and pointed it over towards her.

Twitching at being interrupted and being forced to take her attention off of Teresa, Irene gave Naruto a death glare and spoke in a rather annoyed tone. "No thank you. Now if you would please excuse me, I have a job to do."

Shrugging at her answer, Naruto uncorked the bottle before draining the bottle in a single swig before setting it onto the table just as Irene's attention went back to Teresa. Soon as he saw this, he spoke again just to piss off the elvin woman some more. "Oh, that would be me. I have the supernatural gift to sense yoki no matter how well it is concealed and tell just how potent it is."

Seeing Irene nearly break her own neck turning her head back towards him, Naruto smirked as he took a seat next to Teresa as he grabbed another bottle of sake.

Regaining her composure, Irene narrowed her eyes at the black cloaked man before closing her eyes. "I see…"

Opening her eyes, she looked back towards Teresa before loud cracks heard and slash like marks appeared on the door's entrance. "Teresa, I don't know why you have done this but my duty is clear. I will have to take your head one way or another…"

"Sure you don't want any?" Naruto interrupted her as he offered her yet another bottle of sake. The result was Irene nearly face faulting and the slashes along the door's entrance seized. "It is quite good and will put you on your ass if you aren't ready for it."

Teresa was enjoying the fact that Naruto didn't seem to only annoy her as Irene's face twitched in anger and looked like she was ready to use her Quick Sword on him. It just made her feel better that Naruto wasn't purposely being annoying. He just was an annoying person.

After reeling in her annoyance, she took a deep breath before giving Naruto a flat stare. "No, I do not want any and stop interrupting. This is a fight between monsters."

"Monsters? All I see is two really hot women." Naruto retorted making both blush horribly before both gave him dirty looks despite being somewhat flattered by his comment.

As both women regained their wits about them and were ready to start things up, Naruto had one last thing to say as he uncorked his third bottle. "Oh well. You two don't see interested in having a threesome anyways."

The bottle never got even got to his lips as her was suddenly sent through the window and into the wall of the next building by Teresa's fist. And he was still smirking as he got a good rise out of both of the women.

Quickly recovering as he was use to such blows, Naruto peeled himself off the wall before landing in front of a woman with short, spiky and platinum hair wearing the same get up as the other hunter was.

Seeing his clone with Clare hiding not too far away, Naruto turned his attention to the woman that was looking oddly at him. Once again being tempted by his devious prankster mind, Naruto refrained from smirking as he spoke. "Hey babe, if you see anything you like we can go into that hotel you know."

Noel's blush scorned her face at Naruto words. She was unsure whether to be angered or flattered at his comment as no guy ever hit on her before seeing that she was a half breed. She contemplated saying yes as she was quite curious as to how it would feel. When she was about to take him up on his offer after their job was done she saw he wasn't there anymore.

"What the…?!" Looking all around, she suddenly spotted Naruto as he entered the building before giving her a peace sign.

Wondering what he was up to, she was about to follow when she was suddenly engulfed in a minor explosion knocking her back into the same building Naruto collided into earlier. She attempted to pull herself off the wall, but she fell straight to the ground as the world was spinning all around her and all she could hear was a loud ringing sound.

Naruto could only smirk as he looked at the dazed face of the short haired warrior before walking into the lobby to see yet another warrior with short, wavy hair. Seeing her looking at the ceiling with her sword drawn, he quickly figured out that she was planning on striking Teresa from below.

Not one to allow such a cowardly tactic to work, Naruto walked over besides her and watched her circle around for a moment before speaking. "No, no! You're doing it all wrong! You'll never get it that way!"

Sophia blinked in confusion as she turned to look at the young man as she had no clue what he was talking about. She knew exactly what she was doing so who was this guy to talk. Before she could even think of a reply to tell him to buzz off, she suddenly found that she no longer was holding her claymore.

"Now it is about right here." Naruto commented with her claymore in his hand before driving in through the ceiling before spinning the blade, cutting a hole into the floor.

Removing the sword from the hole, a bottle of sake fell from the hole and into his right hand before he threw the sword back to her and taking a swig of his rice wine. "Now that is how you steal sake from below!"

Sophia found herself on the ground as she face faulted in disbelief at what just happened. He had not only stole her sword and alerted Teresa of what she was planning, he did it all for a bottle of sake! Was this guy even sane?

Running into the room, Noel, not looking so well after the explosive tag, glared at the blonde haired enigma before unsheathing her claymore. "You! You planned that somehow!"

Naruto nodded proudly before taking another drink of his bottle. This only angered Noel more as she brought her sword up, ready to strike the blonde. "You'll pay for that and tricking me!"

Due to the close proximity, Noel was on him almost instantaneously but the blade hit nothing but the wooden floor as Naruto side stepped her before casually walking outside.

Looking at each other, not sure how he just dodged Noel so easily, Noel and Sophia ran out after him knowing this guy was helping Teresa and wanted to take care of him before they could gang up on the former number one.

Once they were outside, Naruto took a sip from his sake bottle before he turned back towards the two short haired warriors. "I thought you guys had a law that forbade you to attack and kill humans? Man, that's what I thought this whole thing with Teresa was about!"

Noel growled angrily as she readied her claymore as she primed herself for her next attack. "Yes, we cannot kill humans but I'm beginning to doubt that you are one! But, we can attack them to defend ourselves or if they are getting in the way as you are!"

She launched herself towards Naruto, who seemed like he didn't care at first as he chugged the bottle. But as soon as she was on him and ready to slice off one of his arms, Naruto's other arm struck towards her chest, stopping her attack.

It felt like a truck had hit her when he outstretched his arm to stop her. But a sharp, piercing pain took away her shock as blood began to pour from her chest. Looking down, she noticed an odd, small blade was sticking out of her chest and the handle being gripped by the black cloaked man she had attacked.

Sighing to himself, Naruto threw his bottle off to the side before he jammed the kunai further into her chest to the point that it was a few centimeters from piercing into her spine. He didn't want to seriously injure them, but he was really left with no choice. These women he could not play around with and survive.

With a rough pull, he jerked the kunai out of her chest as she fell to her knees and looked down at her coldly before placing his kunai at her throat, ready to strike and end any chance she had of endangering Teresa.

"Noel!" Sophia's voice carried over the deafening silence that had overtaken the village.

Naruto could see that she wouldn't make it in time. She would get there, but she would be too late. He wanted to let this woman live, but she would only stall him from leaving this island continent and getting back home. But there was another, powerful presence that seemed to materialize besides him.

Jumping back, Naruto cursed as a shallow cut on his right forearm. If he hadn't picked up her presence sooner, he would have lost his right arm completely.

Landing on his feet, he took a good look at the woman that he had missed and was surprised. She wasn't a woman at all but a young girl, probably four to six years older then Clare but was still very young compared to her company. But that meant she was within his reasonable age limit and could be hit on.

"Wow, despite being so young and talented, you're kind of cute girly. You are the first person to hit me in battle in over a year. May I ask you out for dinner later if you are available?" Naruto asked as he looked at the young warrior before congratulating himself as yet another blushed.

Priscilla's entire face was beet red. This guy had just tried to kill one of her allies then instantly tries to hit on her. "You have a lot of nerve… You just try to kill one of us then you act like nothing happened! How can a human like you even try to hurt us?! We are the only ones keeping you from becoming extinct because of the yoma!"

"You mean these people," Naruto responded seriously, losing the playful attitude he had before, as he motioned his hands around him before continuing. "Because I'm not like them. If these yoma appeared where I come from, they would be killed almost immediately as the majority of my people are warriors. As for how… Eh, I do because I need to."

Glass shattered from above before Irene hit the ground and panted heavily as she looked up to the level above only to see Teresa jump down besides Naruto.

Smiling faintly as she noticed Noel passed out and seeing that Naruto had nothing but a single scratch, Teresa was quite pleased. One of the four attackers was taken out of the fight and Irene was getting ready to pass out herself after going against her for a few minutes. So that only left Sophia and the young girl.

"Good job Naruto, I think I can handle it from here." Teresa stated as she brought her claymore in front, smiling a little more as she knew she could end this battle now.

Naruto, however, was finished fighting himself as he shook his head. "I can't do that, Teresa. I helped start this; I'm going to finish it."

As soon as the last word rolled of his tongue, his arm suddenly jerked forward and a kunai struck the ground at Irene's feet. Then it went off, knocking back Priscilla, Sophia and the unconscious Noel as Irene was enveloped in the blast.

Teresa took a step back as she had not expected the weapon to explode and with such force as a piece of debris cut her cheek. Turning to Naruto with wide eyes, she turned back towards the explosion to see Irene had panting even heavier then before with her claymore stabbed into the ground in front of her, absorbing some of the blast.

"Wow, those swords are extremely durable if they can survive an explosion like that without even a scratch." Naruto whistled in amazement as he looked at the blade embedded into the ground.

Irene only looked at him, trying to figure out what he was as she had never heard of anything like him before. She tried to pick herself up, but as she tried, she collapsed and laid besides her sword. She knew she was done and now had to leave it up to Priscilla and Sophia.

As Priscilla ran to her side, Irene could only choke out what she needed the young girl to do. "Priscilla… You can't hold back your power. You are the only one of us that can defeat Teresa and this man now… But don't go past your… limit. Keep your power under… control."

Nodding at Irene, Priscilla stood up as Sophia walked besides her, staring down the two opposing them. "You heard her… I'll take Teresa for now, so take the guy out and do not hold back."

Sophia only smirked as the dirt around both hunters began to lift off the ground and float besides around them. The amount of dirt grew even more before it suddenly was blown back as they simultaneously released their yoki.

Their eyes sparkled a dazzling silver as the sounds of bones cracking and muscles tearing began to reach both Naruto and Teresa's ears. Their veins began to show as they bulged out as their muscle size began to increase and they seemed to become more and more demon like by the second.

However, they stopped their increase of yoki before suddenly charging the two.

Naruto ducked under Sophia's claymore as she attempted to behead him. Seeing that she was already preparing for a kick, Naruto simply jumped back further to avoid it and to keep Sophia from moving him to where she wanted him to go. However, when he felt himself pressed up against a building he cursed at himself for forgetting his surrounding.

But to his advantage, Sophia went for his head again and he ducked under as the sword went into the building. But to his surprise, it went straight through it like a butter knife and he was left with no room to counter as she tried to grab him with her free hand.

Grabbing her arm, he brought down his elbow against her forearm and snapped the bone with a single hit before kicking her off of him. Standing straight up Naruto knew he couldn't go on the defensive against this foe. He could only smirk at that thought. He loved being the one attacking. Increasing the flow of his chakra, the ground began to part from his feet as he moved towards Sophia as she regained her footing.

Sophia grimaced at her broken arm. That would take some time to heal. She would have preferred if he had just hacked it off as she could regenerate quicker then she could mend a broken bone.

Turning her attention back to Naruto as she needed to focus at the moment. What she saw surprised her as it reminded her of a yoki release as the ground was giving way to him as a strange energy began to surround him. She was sure even if she wasn't a warrior of the organization; she could see the aura as it wasn't yoki. It was natural energy.

Taking a step back as she did not suspect this, Sophia was taken back even further when the ground around him seemingly exploded and he disappeared.

She broke into a cold sweat as he suddenly appeared behind her without any warning. If he was this fast, she didn't stand a chance. It was as if this guy was on the same level as Bishou no Teresa. She wouldn't even doubt if he was stronger then Teresa.

With a quick blow to the back of her skull before she collapsed onto the ground. Shaking his head, he turned around to see Teresa had made quick work of the young girl. In fact, it seemed the young warrior seemed to be scared out of her mind as she knelt onto the ground. He wasn't sure what Teresa had done, but whatever it was had worked as the young blonde haired warrior seemed so frightened that her entire body began to tremble as a dark stain stretched across her thighs.

Soon as he saw Teresa raise her sword to her neck, Naruto interfered as he gripped the swords handle. "Teresa, that is enough. You've thoroughly have frightened this child."

"We need to take care of her now… She has the capacity to become much stronger." Teresa responded as she tried to pull her blade free from Naruto's grip.

Naruto, however, held firm as he stood right next to her and looked down into her eyes being half a head taller then Teresa and spoke firmly. "It doesn't matter. Even if she has the potential to become more powerful then the Gods themselves, this is not the time to end her life! She is only a God damn child not that much older then Clare!"

Teresa flinched at Naruto's words before she pulled her claymore back after he released it. Taking one good look at Priscilla, she looked away in slight shame. She had indeed frightened the child, though she did not know how. Maybe she wasn't ready for such high intensity battle despite her skills and it overwhelmed her. Even if she was a warrior, she still was a child and her mind, despite what the organization had drilled her in, was still that of a young girl's.

Sheathing her claymore, she nodded at Naruto before Clare suddenly came running up and latched onto Teresa's leg. Both could tell that she was frightened, though she hid it well.

Kneeling down, Teresa embraced Clare tightly as she patted her on the back, trying to get the girl to calm down. It wasn't too hard as Clare had calm down rather quickly making Naruto what exactly frightened her.

That answered itself as she continued looking at Teresa before gripping her hand lightly as Teresa turned to him. "Let's get out of here. We've caused enough trouble and damage to this town."

Naruto nodded in agreement as he knew he did a lot of damage with his explosions and when Teresa punched him. Seeing his clone, he gave it the order to get their stuff, especially his sake, and bring it to them. Shaking that off for now, he walked behind Clare and Teresa to guard the rear and to watch Clare a little more.

He was just beginning to understand what Clare was to Teresa, but there was no doubt what Clare thought Teresa to be. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Teresa was her mother now even if she wasn't by blood. And she was the most precious thing to her on the entire planet and she was afraid of losing her.

Smiling sadly at the young girl, he looked up into the sky knowing that feeling all too well. He felt empty now that he thought about it as his most precious person had moved on and there was nothing he could do about it.

After a few minutes of walking, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green stone. Gently holding it in his hand, he brought out a small chain he had been crafting ever since he lost her. Placing the jewel on the chain, he added a small amount of chakra to it and almost instantly it began to meld to the chain until it looked like it did before.

Having sensed something from Naruto, Teresa stopped and turned around to see what he had done. This mystified her as to why he did that just now as they had plenty of time before but she said nothing. It was his business and she wouldn't interfere unless it involved either her or Clare.

As she was ready to move on, Naruto's voice stopped her. "Clare, can you come here for a moment?"

The young girl looked at Teresa before releasing her hand and slowly walking to Naruto. As she reached him, he knelt so they were on eye level before he gently placed the necklace over her head. Looking at it, Clare was stunned by the dazzling green stone as it shone brightly in the light. Looking back up at Naruto, she could only shake her head as she tried to take it off and give it back to him.

Naruto only chuckled at her before lightly putting his hand on hers. "It's alright. I've been looking to give that to someone for a while. I've decided to give it to you as you kind of remind me of what I use to be."

As Clare looked up at him, Naruto smiled at her before giving her a small story. "The one that gave this stone to me believed in me and my dream so much that she nearly died for it. Because of her confidence in me, I began to blossom into who I am today. I'm giving this to you today so that maybe the same thing will happen and you will begin to blossom just like me."

Seeing the look in Clare's eyes only made him smile more before she suddenly hugged him making him laugh softly at the girl's action.

After a moment, she stopped hugging him and allowed him to get up before she went over to show Teresa, who was looking oddly at Naruto. But after a moment, the look turned into a smile as rubbed Clare's head.

Seeing his clone arrive, Naruto pocketed his sake scroll, as God knew he needed it, before his clone ran over to Teresa and handed her pouch and her skirt plates to her before disappearing into a plum of smoke.

But as soon as Teresa strapped them on, Priscilla landed in front of them, her entire body bulging and becoming more and more deformed as her yoki continued to increase.

Teresa sighed as she saw this and could see it was the fear in the girl that was driving her now and attempted to nip her attack in the butt. "It is no use. As things are right now, I will win. There is nothing you can do as of now that will change that so go home because this is not a fight you can win."

It seemed that Priscilla refused to listen as she released even more yoki then before, rupturing the ground beneath her feet as her skin began to gain a grayish tent to it. The muscles bulged even more making the small girl look like a giant and was as tall if not taller then Naruto.

Frowning as she saw this, Teresa unsheathed her blade, ready for a possible attack, before she tried to sway the young girl once more to restrain her power. "Stop the release now! You are newly instated warrior and I doubt you know your limits yet. If you continue at this rate, you'll pass your limit and you won't be able to return and become a yoma."

_"Shut… Shut… __**SHUT UP!" **_Priscilla unearthly scream echoed throughout the desert, nearly deafening Naruto and Clare in the process.

With speeds that seemed unreal to even Naruto's standards, Priscilla was suddenly on Teresa with her blade drawn. But Teresa had seen the attack coming and simply put her blade in the way and blocked it. To make it even more surprising, it was Priscilla that lost ground as Teresa stood firm and pushed her claymore against Priscilla's.

_"Murder… You… You murder… __**YOU MURDERER!" **_Priscilla screamed once more as she dragged her blade against Teresa's, trying to overpower the former number one while her yoki continued to rise more and more.

Naruto did not like this situation at all. He was ready to intervene and take care of the girl right then and there. Despite what he had said earlier, they had no choice but to put the girl down. She was becoming more then just a threat to them. She was becoming a threat to herself and everyone else around her.

Sensing this, Teresa looked over at Naruto and stopped him before he could even move. "You will stay there and guard Clare!"

Being outright told off, Naruto did as she said and stood besides Clare, ready for just about anything as he wasn't sure what he was about to see.

Yet soon as Teresa had said that, Priscilla suddenly had a burst of strength and knocked threw her and her blade back. Flipping in mid air, Teresa stopped the momentum of Priscilla's throw and looked for the young warrior only to find nothing.

Catching a glimpse of yoki, she could only look up to see Priscilla right above her, face to face.

Teresa barely had enough time to get out of the way. There wasn't even time to parry her blow. Not that she wanted to anymore as the girl's strength had suddenly gone through the roof and she could turn her own blade against her if she tried to block.

To make things worse, Teresa could not read the flow of Priscilla's yoki as her entire system was filled to the brim with it that it was leaking out and making it almost impossible to tell what her next move was.

However, she still was able to dodge an overextended thrust towards her heart but Priscilla counted on this and swept the blade towards Teresa to decapitate the platinum blonde. Teresa just ducked under it before jumping back as if she was only fighting a child with no experience.

But the next thing even caught her off guard.

Instead of trying to recover from the overextension, Priscilla used it to her advantage as her arm wrapped around he own waist and used the turn to gain even more speed as it went straight for Teresa's forehead.

An ear splitting clang sounded through the desert as Teresa had barely parried the blow to keep it from puncturing through and into her brain. However, she took a deep gash across the right side of her forehead that even cut through some of the bone of her skull.

Clare gasped loudly and was ready to run to her guardian's side when Naruto grabbed her shoulders, keeping her from moving. "Don't… That blow is only a scratch. She'll get out of this just fine."

However, Naruto knew something was wrong with the young girl as she looked over at Teresa and began to speak once more. _**"A yoma… A yoma killed papa… I'll never forget… I'll never forget… I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU YOMA!" **_

"You've already lost your mind, haven't you?" Teresa sadly asked as she looked at the turning warrior before she sighed deeply as she got no response. "I guess I cannot avoid this now. I must kill you here."

Naruto felt a chill go down his spine as Teresa said that. He wasn't one to be easily frightened by such simple words and it wasn't really the words that made him almost shiver. It was what he felt when she said that.

He was wrong, dead wrong about Teresa's power. She wasn't as strong as Pein was. If what he had just felt was right… She was possibly even more powerful then he was. And he was proven to be right as Teresa released her yoki.

"No way… That is insane!" Naruto yelled out in surprise as Teresa's eyes began to glow.

There was only one thing that he could measure this power to and even then, it wasn't a fair measurement but it was the best comparison he had. If this was only a tenth of her power, as he believed it to be, a full hundred percent would be equivalent to a tenth of Kyuubi's true power.

And that was truly frightening to Naruto.

Teresa and Priscilla clashed blades once more and the ground around them shattered from the shockwaves created from the impact. Priscilla tried to overpower Teresa once again, but it was of no use this time as she couldn't even push the Claymore back even when she was in the air.

Watching Priscilla jump back as she landed, Teresa stood up and looked towards the nearly awakened warrior as she began to growl like a yoma. Sensing sudden weakness in her, she struck and sliced through the right shoulder, shattering the armored pad above it.

Cursing as the blow was meant to sever her arm, Teresa appeared in front of Priscilla to feint her next attack so she could take off her arm.

However, Priscilla wasn't having it as her same arm stretched over to her and the same wound began to heal almost immediately forcing Teresa began to parry her sword strikes. Every strike seemed to fail making Priscilla even more desperate to land a hit and made her drop her guard.

That was almost a fatal mistake as Teresa suddenly went by her and sliced a clean arc through her left chest and shoulder, just off from hitting her heart. But it didn't seem to faze the nearly awakened warrior as she turned around and tried to decapitate her opponent.

Teresa, however, simply parried it before disappearing and appearing right behind her once more. This time she was able to block Teresa's attack but it meant no difference. The force of the blow sent Priscilla flying back and through a rather large boulder, turning the front portion into pebbles until she finally stopped halfway through it.

"It's over…" Irene's voice came from behind Naruto.

Naruto was instantly on the defensive as he had allowed himself to be distracted by the fight. He had his kunai out and was preparing for his signature technique when he saw all three of the hunter warriors behind him. Putting himself between them and Clare, he was ready to battle when Irene shook her head.

"We aren't here to fight… We know we can't win. We're here… To try and recover Priscilla before she awakens." Irene answered in a pain filled voice as she obviously hadn't recovered from the wounds she had taken from her fight against Teresa and the explosion Naruto caught her with.

Looking back towards the fight, Naruto could only shake his head before looking back towards them. "It is too late… Even if she could come back, her mind is shattered. I don't exactly know what an awakened is, but I bet it has to be the end result of a warrior that has reached her limits and can no longer control the demon within her… That girl… Is past that point."

Irene shook her head as she limped past Naruto and looked at Priscilla. "Mentally, she may be… But physically there is still a chance for her to change back. And at the very least… That is what we need."

Before she could move any more forward, Naruto placed the kunai at the back of her neck. "What makes you think I would let you get to her now? She is a threat to everyone and needs to be taken out. I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to recover that girl. It was you and your organizations fault for putting such an unstable warrior onto the battle field."

Seeing the elf-like woman flinch at his comment, Naruto put away his kunai before creating a clone and having it stand besides Clare just in case they tried anything. He wasn't sure why he was being so lenient, but he was quite sure the fight was about to wrap up and this was not one he wanted to miss.

Priscilla looked up at Teresa before she slowly began to stand up once more. _**"Papa… Give my papa back… He was so kind and I loved him so much… But he then ate the guts of Mama, my brother and my sister!" **_

Teresa wasn't sure what to make of what Priscilla's words. While her story was sad and all, it was proving that she was reverting back to her mind before she became a warrior. And that meant she was about to become an awakened and she had to stop that at all cost.

But as soon as Priscilla had stood fully erect, she disappeared from sight and Teresa not even Teresa could keep up with her.

It was Naruto, however, that saw her and called out Teresa. "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"

While it wasn't much time, Teresa was thankful as she barely managed to block Priscilla's strike. She was becoming more and more worried as her yoki began to rise again and it was just teetering on the border of no return. She had to end this now as the girl wasn't going to come back.

But it seemed Priscilla wasn't done with her story as she tried to overpower her and have Teresa's own blade slice her in two. _**"But that's why, I killed him! I crept up behind him while he was eating my sister's guts and chopped off his head!" **_

Frowning, Teresa knew it was over when the top portion of Priscilla's shirt was ripped off and her sword holster was shattered from the muscle overload. She watched as Priscilla tried to reign in her yoki but fail as she dropped her sword and fell to her knees.

Priscilla didn't know what happened. She thought she was fine and the traitor was trying to deceive her. But now she couldn't call her power back and it began to overwhelm her to the point that she could barely suppress it.

Looking up at Teresa with tears running down her face, she couldn't help but try to ask for help despite that was what Teresa was trying to do the entire time. _**"Help me… I can't turn back… Please help me! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO BECOME A YOMA!" **_

"Now… It is over." Naruto solemnly commented as he saw Irene close her eyes.

Irene could only nod as she opened her eyes and looked at the scene with regret. "I know… But there is nothing that can be done now."

Naruto nodded in agreement and he was about to turn to Clare and tell her to look away, but a strange surge caught his attention making him look back towards Priscilla when he saw it.

"I am sorry." Teresa responded to Priscilla as she gripped her claymore, preparing herself to end the young warrior's life. "But there is nothing I can do to turn you back. The best I can do is to cut off your head before you awaken."

Priscilla was absolutely devastated by Teresa words. She wanted to live. She wanted to live so she could avenge her fallen family. She wanted to live so she could wipe the yoma off the face of the earth. She wanted to live to be the best and to be loved by all.

But now, none of that could happen as she was about to become what she despised the most. There was no other way out of this. She would have to die so she would no become the same monster that devoured her family.

Bowing her head and gripping the dirt beneath her, she began to beg. _**"Please… Do it. Kill me now… While I have at least a shred of humanity in my heart."**_

Teresa gave Priscilla a small nod and stood before Priscilla, ready to be her executioner. Her heart was heavy as she did not like having to kill another warrior, but there was no choice now. She was going to awaken. "Alright… I will let you pass on as a human."

Suddenly, Teresa's hands along with her claymore hit the ground and blood began to pour from her hands as if they weren't there. It was then she realized, Priscilla no longer had control of her body as the girl's claymore came streaking towards her neck.

But she did not feel the sharp pain of the blade slicing through her neck and beheading her. In fact, what she felt was a heavy blow from the side before she felt the rough surface of the desert rocks.

Not sure what happened, she turned to Priscilla only to see a young man cloaked in black standing in front of her with his very own guts beginning to fall out of his body before his body fell silently to the ground. A pool of blood began to surround him as it did not seem to stop coming and stained the ground a deep crimson color.

Teresa was in tremendous shock as Naruto's body hit the ground in front of her allowing her to see the most horrific thing she had ever seen. The actual transformation of an awakened being.

The dust scattered across the desert allowing no one to see what was happening outside of Teresa. She watched as muscles morphed and bones shattered before being recreated for new purpose while wings began to sprout from her back and her skin turn a deep blue. And when the dust had settled, a new demon had been born.

And her name was Priscilla.

* * *

**A/N2:** Yes, I have to stop here. This is the best point to stop and as much as you want to see it go on, this is a planned cliff hanger. I hope even more of your questions have been answered with this chapter and if not, keep sending them in as I would to see the review count for this story stay as high as it is. Outside of the cliff hanger, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't stop reading because of it. Peace out.


	4. The Demons

**A/N:** Well, here is the next update of A Red Dawn. This last chapter surprised me even more as I did not expect that many reviews in such a short time. And I can't help but respond with yet another update, despite the fact that I started writing this almost immediately after I finished the third chapter. Anyways, here is the Forth chapter of A Red Dawn, The Demons.

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore

* * *

Priscilla was unsure what to think as she felt an overwhelming, yet intoxicating power fill her system. It felt like nothing she had ever felt before and she was sure that there wasn't a single being that could challenge her now.

All of her clothes had been shred showing her crystal blue skin that shone brightly in the sun's light and seemed to be almost reflecting the light making it difficult to look straight at her. She had gold plates covering her ribs and above her now much larger breasts.

She had a large horn that grew from her head and curved towards the sky and brought attention to her face, more particularly her still beast-like silver eyes. She had a set of upper wings and lower wings that were covered a light red skin-like material allowing her the capacity to fly and very quickly.

Her muscles no longer bulged as they were fully developed and she towered everyone there by a few heads at least and that only added to the menacing figure standing before Teresa.

_**"There was no reason to hold back… This feels so wonderful." **_Priscilla commented as the power flowing through her veins made her feel unbelievable.

But as soon as she said this, she felt her stomach growl and a hunger unlike any before she had ever felt. The troubling thing was that she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted guts and not just any kind of guts. She wanted human guts.

Her eyes fell onto the blonde haired teen with some of his guts spilt onto the ground. The smell was so enticing that she couldn't help but start walking over towards him. _**"Mhm… His entrails smell so good. I must feed on them while he still alive so they won't loose its flavor." **_

It wasn't often when Teresa felt like this. In fact, the only two times she could remember that she had felt like this was when she had left Clare behind in a mountain village before bandits attacked and when she felt the yoki release from the blonde that was lying in his own blood pool in front of her.

Bishou no Teresa was afraid.

She had never felt such a hopeless situation like this before as she looked towards the blue skinned demon as she slowly began to walk in her direction. Her hands had been sliced off and it would take her some time to reattach them, it being harder due to the fact that she had no way to keep the hands steady while reattaching them.

To add on top of that, the blonde she had been only traveling with for a single day had just sacrificed himself to protect her. She could also tell that Irene, Noel and Sophia were there as well, but after beating them down in the town they had absolutely no chance in surviving if they went to attack the newly awakened warrior without her presence in the fight.

For the first time in her life, Teresa knew that there was almost no chance for her to survive and to make things worse, Clare was still within the area. But she had to wonder why Naruto's clone was still standing next to the young girl after what had happened to the true Naruto and why it wasn't getting her out of there.

Coughing caught her attention and her eyes instantly feel onto Naruto as he blood was splattering onto the ground after each and every cough. Crawling over to him, Teresa laid her stump of a right arm on his back to try help him in anyway she could. However, when he batted her limb away, her eyes widened as he lifted his head and red yoki began to surround his body.

_"Stay away from me!" _Naruto growled out as his face began to turn feral-like as his eyes turned crimson. _"I'm fine! Get yourself and Clare out of here now!" _

Teresa couldn't help but began to shake once more as felt the horrible yoki but this time she was up close to feel how powerful it truly was. But with one good look at Naruto, she instantly began to realize he wasn't using the yoki for combat. He was trying to use it to close up and heal his wound; however, it seemed to be difficult as the yoki was trying to release itself.

He wasn't the only one to sense this as Irene, Noel and Sophia landed next to them. They were torn by which one they were more afraid of in Priscilla or Naruto, but they kept their focus on the awakened being as Naruto was still injured and therefore, not a major threat.

Giving Naruto a quick look, Irene had to wonder if the organization was trying experiments on males once again as there was no doubt in her mind that this blonde was one of them. However, his yoki was far more potent then anything she had felt before and was truly frightened that they had not even heard of the organization doing this.

Putting that aside for now, she looked over at Teresa before dropping her claymore and her hands that Priscilla had severed in front of the former number one. "Reattached them as fast as possible because we need your help. As of now, Priscilla is the biggest threat here and we can deal with your treachery later."

Turning her attention back to Naruto and seeing the amount of blood flow beginning to seize, Irene looked back at Priscilla before speaking in a rather stoic voice despite the situation. "Concentrate on your stomach wound for now. If we can't hold her off long enough for either of you to recover, get out of here."

Naruto growled lightly in his throat as more and more of the demon fox's yoki flooded into his system. He knew the fox was just trying to heal his wound, but the fox could also sense the threat outside and wanted Naruto healed as fast as possible and battle ready so he could take care of this threat to their lives.

He was restraining it as much as he could but each second he did, the more likely it became that the wound he was inflicted with would be fatal. However, if the others weren't around he wouldn't need to restrain it and unleash the fox's devastation onto this creature without worry of injuring the innocent. But if they didn't leave soon, he would either die or be forced to unleash it anyways and hoped they were fast enough to get away.

Growling deeply, Naruto gave Irene a death glare as the red yoki around him bubbled and slowly began to take the shape of the demon within. _"No! Just get out of here! If you do, I can unleash my full force…"_

"Don't push yourself. This is our job… To eradicate any and every yoma from this world. Just concentrate on healing, douche." Noel interrupted Naruto before giving him a pissed glare as a small amount of blood was still pouring from the chest wound he had delivered to her.

Teresa knew something was wrong with Naruto as he was trying to get everyone out of the area. She could tell, unlike the others, that he was restraining his yoki with all his might and despite that it was still coming and quickly. If she could guess, he wouldn't be able to hold on after a few more minutes as his wound was not healing quick enough and he would either die or he would be forced to release as much as he could.

"Irene… Listen to him and get out of…" Teresa tried to say but none of them listened as they headed towards Priscilla.

She cursed at this as she placed her bloody stumps onto to their correct hands and began releasing more of her yoki. Unlike the three, she planned on getting her hands reattached and getting Clare out of danger. She knew the depths of the power Naruto was releasing and did not want to be around to see how much he would have to release to heal himself from the grievous wound he was given. She only hoped that he wouldn't lose control of himself.

Irene was the first to leap towards Priscilla with her claymore aimed for the awakened's wings to try and limit her new abilities. She didn't even get close as Priscilla simply turned and as if on accident, her claymore sliced through her left arm before she was able to put her blade in front to block it and keeping more damage from being done. However, the contact of the swords knocked Irene back and skidding against the ground.

Panting as blood began to pour from the remainder of her arm, Irene's silver eyes sparkled darkly as her veins began to pulse in her face and throughout her body. She wasn't going to give up so easily and allow herself to beaten handily a second time in one day.

Priscilla looked at Irene oddly for a moment as she didn't understand why she just attempted to attack her. However, she quickly put that behind her as she noticed the condition of the elf-like woman, mainly the bleeding stump where her arm use to be. _**"Hello Irene… It seems that you are missing an arm. What did you do with it?"**_

Irene gave Priscilla a dark glare as she began to concentrate as much of her yoki as she could into her right arm, getting ready to strike when Priscilla reached down and picked her severed arm off the ground before throwing it to her. _**"Ah! Here it is, Irene. You shouldn't leave something as important as your arm lying around."**_

As soon as Priscilla threw the arm, both Noel and Sophia appeared besides with their claymores arching towards her neck. Despite being caught off guard by the attack, Priscilla still managed to block Sophia's strike with her claymore while she allowed Noel to sever her arm.

It didn't stay severed, to their misfortune. Her own flesh and blood seemed to become tendrils and reattach the arm that Noel had severed within seconds.

Having never seen anything like this before, both Noel and Sophia were caught off guard and were not prepared for Priscilla's fingers to turn into lances as they pierced through their flesh, but more importantly, through their head and heart.

Irene looked on in dread as she watched both women's bodies suddenly become limp. She needed both of them to even stay in this fight and Priscilla had gotten rid of them as if they were just cannon fodder. It also wasn't too reinsuring that there had barely any time to pass by meaning that neither Teresa nor the young man had enough time to recover from their wounds.

Teresa cursed as she knew there wasn't going to be enough time to fully reattach her hands. Hell, she doubted that there was going to be enough time for her to get to Clare and get her out of there.

Turning to Naruto, her face fell as the blonde seemed to in great pain as he restrained the yoki around him and was failing. But now, she could see clearly the form the yoki was making as a second tail began to form. It looked like that off a fox.

A fox with multiple tails? She knew she had heard something about that before, but she did not remember where.

Shaking her head of that, she focused on her hands once more to make sure that they were at least attached enough to work correctly. She cursed as her left hand fell off meaning that it had not healed over correctly meaning she was going to have to do it again. The only problem was that there wasn't much time.

_"Teres__**a…" **_Naruto's darkening voice caught her attention as she began to regenerate the fibers that held her hand to her arm. _**"Once you're finished with your hands… Get that woman and Clare out of here… I'm going to buy some time with my clone. It should give you a few minutes." **_

She had to turn back and look at Naruto as he said this. Was he trying to sacrifice himself once more just to save a few lives? While she understood the logic that had to be running through the blonde's mind, she just couldn't figure out why he was ready to lay his life on the line for people he didn't know.

However, Teresa knew not to argue as he clenched in pain as another surge of powerful yoki began to go through him and quickly release more of her yoki to regenerate her hands quicker.

Priscilla looked at the two corpses of the hunters that were on her lance-like fingers before throwing them off with disgust written on her face. _**"How annoying… All of you actually plan on killing me?" **_

Seeing that Irene only bit her lip as she looked her in the eyes, Priscilla frowned before turning towards Irene. She wasn't sure why they were doing it, but she was not going to die so easily. _**"Sorry Irene, but I can't let that happen. I just want some guts to devour, that is all." **_

And with those words, Priscilla just seemingly disappeared from her vision. Even her Quick Sword could not save her as Priscilla appeared in front of her with her claymore already inches from her chest. Knowing it was the end; Irene closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable slice that would end her life.

But after a few seconds and not feeling it, she opened her eyes to see a black cloak with red clouds blocking her vision. It took her a few more seconds, but Irene realized what it was and looked up to see the young blonde man standing in front of her.

At first, she was confused at this as she could see that he was still clearly besides Teresa but she remembered the clone that he made for the girl and turned towards her to see it was no longer there. She wanted to tell the clone to guard the girl once more, but at the same time she was grateful that her life had just been spared.

"Woman," Naruto's clone spoke in an emotionless tone despite it seeing to fidget every few moments as if it was in pain, "Grab your arm and head over to the girl. Teresa will be joining you shortly and after she gets there, leave this place so taishou can go all out and regenerate his wound at the same time. The longer he has to wait, the more likely he is going to die from the wound."

Irene didn't hesitate to listen this time as she picked up her arm and began to limp towards the young girl. She wanted to argue, but even Teresa seemed to be ready to flee herself as she had reattached her hands to the point that they wouldn't fall off and was heading towards the young girl.

Knowing he still had to buy some time, the clone looked towards Priscilla before cracking his knuckles before its eyes turned gold and waited for the blue demon to make the first move.

Priscilla frowned as she looked at the young man. It didn't make sense that there was two of them, but she did not care. She was rather hungry from moving so much and if there was two of them, that meant there was more food for her to devour. With a single flap of her wings, she took off into the air and flew to him.

The clone was ready for this and jumped into the air just as Priscilla was on him before landing on her back. Pulling out a kunai from his pouch, he drove it in between her shoulder blades and held onto the handle tightly as Priscilla screamed in pain before she flew up into the sky, trying to get the clone off of her back.

Hanging on for dear life as Priscilla began to spin rapidly, the clone held on despite become extremely dizzy. Knowing the awakened being was in a panic, the clone began to charge up for his originator's signature technique as it began to gather chakra in the palm of its free hand.

Sensing this, Priscilla began to panic even more as she could feel the raw power beginning to build behind her. As tried to reach behind her and grab the free loader, she couldn't get him as the clone weaver around her hands while keeping his grip firmly on the kunai driven into her back. Panicking even more as she spun while trying to grab him, she began to fly towards the ground as fast as she could before turning at the last second and slamming her back into the ground.

But she could still feel the power being gathered but she couldn't tell where it was coming from. Standing up, she looked into the crater to see that there was absolutely nothing in the crater before she caught whiff of his scent. He was above her making her look up to see the blonde clone falling straight at her with a dazzling blue orb glowing in its hand.

Despite the speed of the falling clone, Priscilla still managed to dodge and allow the clone to hit the ground causing a huge cloud of debris from the impact. But almost immediately, the dust kicked out towards her as the clone rushed towards her with the orb still glowing and becoming more powerful by the second.

Priscilla was even more frightened then before stretching her fingers out like lances to pierce through him and stop this insane charge. But Naruto's clone simply weaved around them without so much as being touched. The fear in her eyes became more obvious as the clone was just about on her when she flew up to try and get away from the blonde haired warrior.

But it just wasn't going to happen as the ground beneath the clone exploded as it jumped towards the airborne Priscilla and cried out the name of his technique as he thrusted it towards her head. "RASENGAN!"

Somehow, despite the position they were in, Priscilla managed to dodge. However, she did not dodge the attack. She dodged just enough to keep the technique from becoming fatal as it hit home into her stomach. Or so she thought.

In an instant, Priscilla's stomach was torn asunder and shredded across the ground beneath them as the Rasengan tore through her like paper, tearing her clean in two. The awakened girl's pain filled screams sounded out through the entire region as Naruto's clone traveled through the giant gap.

Both Irene and Teresa looked on in amazement and fright as they saw what the clone had done to the awakened Priscilla. While the power of the technique was astonishing, what was more remarkable was that the clone, which they doubted was as strong as the original, was able to not only keep up with Priscilla; it had just delivered a fatal blow to the awakened being.

That is what they thought when thousands of tendrils shot out from both the torso and from the legs, ripping through the clone as if it wasn't there at all. The clone disappeared into a plum of smoke as the tendrils threaded with each other as her yoki gushed out of her wounds, reforming her stomach almost instantly.

All eyes were on Priscilla as this happened, none more so then Naruto. At first he was sure that it was regeneration, but he knew it wasn't. It reminded him of when Kyuubi's yoki suddenly surged through his system as it would heal almost any wound, no matter how fatal it could be.

Growling as this got even more complicated; he looked over to see that Irene and Teresa hadn't fled as he asked. He could feel his third tail had came just as his clone was destroyed but now he was teetering on unleashing his forth tail. He now did have control of it, but he knew Kyuubi still had more yoki on the way. It was reminded him way too much of the feeling he had when he believe Pein to have killed Hinata.

"I think it is time to go." Irene spoke out loud, trying not to sound too nervous as she looked up at Priscilla.

Teresa could only nod in agreement as she looked up at Priscilla. Even now, she was sure she could not defeat the awakened being without awakening herself now that the full extent of her yoki was on display. If she didn't know any better, she was sure that they had witnessed the birth of a new Abyssal.

As she was about to reach down and pick up Clare, Priscilla's gaze fell on them, more importantly, Clare. _**"Hm… Maybe I should consume that girl's innards before going after his. He is becoming… Troublesome." **_

Both warriors tensed as they heard this and Teresa turned to pick up Clare when Priscilla was suddenly in-between them and had knocked away both her and Irene.

Hitting the ground nearly thirty meters away, Teresa looked up without caring about the pain she was in to see Priscilla reaching down to the young girl. Fear gripped her heart, not unlike what she felt a few weeks ago and she attempted to get up only to find her legs immobile. "CLARE!"

As panic began to take over, she tried to will her legs to move but her legs wouldn't budge. Trying to figure out what happened, she turned around to see her legs had been taken off and a woman with reddish-brown hair stood behind her, smiling as she watched what happened.

Clare looked up in fright at the blue skinned demon as she looked down at her hungrily. Her entire body shivered as she looked into Priscilla's eyes, not sure what to do as the creature's hand crept towards her.

Naruto's entire mind set had changed as he saw both Irene and Teresa be separated from Clare. He was only trying to get them out of there so he could go all out, but now there was nothing more important then to protect the young girl he had given his grandmother's necklace to.

He would no let her be devoured by this creature. No, not after he had just found someone who was deserving of that necklace. He was no going to let her die.

Red yoki exploded around him, tearing the ground out from underneath him and forming a massive crater. The yoki formed a giant sphere around ten meters wide with a column of yoki reaching twenty to thirty meters high as the ground that was torn away by the explosion of yoki spiraled around the great sphere.

And finally, a great, demonic roar filled everyone's ears and their heart with fear as the power was unlike anything they had ever felt before. The only one that was not fazed was Priscilla as she went to rip Clare's guts out of her stomach just as the green stone on her chest began to glow.

Priscilla suddenly pulled her hand back as it began to wither as a light green aura surrounded Clare as the green stone shone brightly, as if it was reacting to something. But what, the young awakened being could not understand when she began to sense the great surge and turned to see what it could be.

And where she turned, the sphere had fallen to reveal a humanoid fox bathed in a dark, crimson yoki with six tails flailing behind it. Her eyes widened as she suddenly felt dwarfed by the yoki creature as what seemed to be bones began to form, creating a fox-like skeleton surrounding the creature.

_**"Grrrr…" **_The Naruto growled as he looked at Priscilla with his hollow white eyes. His attention was only on the awakened being and nothing else. He didn't even care that the young girl was beside the monster. He just wanted to destroy the creature before it could cause him any harm.

Without warning, Naruto leapt towards Priscilla with his claw extending towards her. Priscilla jumped to the side as Naruto landed and the dirt kicked up into Clare's face before he swung around and slashed at the awakened being again as one of his tail wildly swung towards Clare.

It never connected as Clare suddenly found herself swept of her feet and a good twenty meters away from Naruto and Priscilla. Looking up, she expected to see Teresa but was shocked to see it was the elf-like woman that had rescued her. She wasn't sure what to think when Irene let her down and looked over towards Teresa with wide eyes.

"No way… It can't be." Irene muttered in fear as she looked at the same woman that had intervened and kept Teresa from jumping in to save Clare. "Luciela of the South…"

The brunette only chuckled at Irene's response as she walked away from Teresa before turning her attention to the battle. Her smile only widened even more as she paid particularly close attention to the battle, her eyes focusing on only one of the combatants.

Neither Naruto nor Priscilla noticed this new presence as they were focused on one another. Naruto lunged towards Priscilla once more and this time caught her with a slash as she tried to defend herself.

Priscilla managed to block the claw with her hand but only felt her hand begin to burn for her trouble. She still held on as she raised her other hand and shot lances into him, only for Naruto to bring his other arm in front of him, using the bones to block the lances before he swiped at her stomach.

Jumping back, Priscilla hissed as he had pierced her skin once more but to make things worse, the gashes he had given her had burnt his flesh. Her yoki pouring out of the wounds still healed the damage that was done, but it was much slower then it was before.

Seeing this, Naruto didn't waste a second as he roared loudly at her when yoki suddenly began to concentrate and form in front of him. Within seconds, it burst sending a wave of yoki towards the awakened Priscilla.

She attempted to move out of the wave, but a shockwave had been created from the burst and caught her winds. This knocked her off balance and allowed the yoki burst to consume her left leg, the bottom half of her left torso and a portion of her lower left wing.

Screaming in pain, Priscilla stumbled forwards when Naruto lunged at her once more. She was only able to roll out of the way but the claws of bone caught her left arm and severed it without any trouble.

Knowing she had to get out of there otherwise this creature would destroy her, she jumped forward thanks to her still working wings and dodged another swipe, this one aimed for her head. To her misfortune, or possible fortune, she got behind Naruto with the roll and was hit by a few of his flailing and was knocked back, skidding across the ground but gaining distance from the demon fox.

Releasing more of her yoki, her wounds slowly began to heal as Naruto turned towards her and roared once more before lunging at her. Her healing arm suddenly burst forward and her flesh wrapped around Naruto and with a great pulse of yoki, in constricted around him, crushing the bones like they were nothing.

Naruto roared in pain as the flesh constricted around him tightly. He tried to squirm his way out of her grip, but it didn't seem to be working as it began to become harder and harder to breath. The yoki surround him, while keeping him from shattering like a twig from the pressure was causing difficulty breathing for the protection it was granting.

His tails were wildly thrashing about and cutting some of the flesh, but were not doing enough to get him free. He bit at what was in front of him to try and free himself, but all his efforts seemed to be useless when salvation came in the form of more yoki.

Receiving even more yoki from the fox, Naruto knew what to do as he roared once more and the yoki began to concentrate in front of him once more. But unlike last time, it continued to concentrate in front of him for longer and longer, gathering more strength by the second as his lights began to dim. But he continued waiting until it was the right moment before releasing the yoki in front of him.

The blast incinerated the flesh binding in front of him and traveled towards the stunned Priscilla. But once more, Priscilla avoided the blast as she flew into the air, her leg and torso now fully recovered.

This turned to be a bad thing as something wrapped around the bottom of her foot as the yoki blast hit the ground beneath her and exploded. Looking down, she saw a brunette with yoki filling her system to the brim and two long, cat like tails gripping her newly healed leg. Priscilla's eyes widened as she tried to fly away, but found herself thrown into the ground.

"Now, now. I can't let you live after seeing your power." Priscilla heard the woman's voice as the tails released her leg and slithered back underneath the long dress connected to a long golden chain that hung loosely on her shoulders and chest.

Priscilla was frightened even more, not sure where this new person had come from and the power she held was incredible. And with the yoki fox closing in once more, she had to get out of there before her life perished. She could feed later. She just had to survive for now.

With a single flap, she blew past the woman before she could even grab her and took off towards the northern mountains.

"Wow. That one is powerful and fast. Hm… Seems to be heading towards Easley. Eh, I'll let him deal with her then." Luciela whistled to herself before noticed that the one she was paying attention to was about to chase after the blue demon.

She did not allow this to happen as she wrapped her two tails around his feet just as he jumped after her. The result was Naruto smashing into the ground and creating a massive crater while Luciela hissed and let go of his feet and her tails returned to her. "Ow… You stretched my tails."

Naruto's attention turned to the woman that had stopped him from chasing after his target. Growling at her, he turned his entire attention to her before releasing a loud roar and disappearing from view.

Luciela simply jumped into the air as the ground beneath her exploded as Naruto reappeared with his claw striking the ground. Soon as she landed, she back flipped out of another claw strike, having her two tails smacked Naruto in the face and keeping him away as she put some distance between them.

Landing, Luciela smiled and put her hand on her waist as she gazed towards the figure in front of her. "Now stop that. You've already proven that you are worthy to be mine. There is no reason to attack me."

His white eyes gazed at her for a moment, as if he was trying to recognize her before he bellowed again. However, this one created a shockwave forcing everyone to shield themselves as his bone fragments began to gather and reform around him.

Watching in fascination, Luciela was getting excited to see such power in action. She was not a fool and knew she could not match it herself; she just wanted to see more of it as the power seemed to be hypnotic to her. "Hm, maybe testing you myself isn't too horrible of an idea after all. Now so me more of that power!"

Growling as his the skeleton of the fox was complete once more, Naruto raced towards her as the ground broke beneath his feet. But once again, his opponent easily dodged him as he came in and slashed at her. Getting irritated, he thrusted one of his claws towards her despite the distance between them and watched it stretched towards her.

Luciela was not expecting the claw to extend towards her and as quickly as it did. But she was an Abyssal one and had despite the unknown element of his abilities, she knew exactly what to do. Ducking underneath the claw, she ran towards the blonde knowing it to be pointless to try and grab the yoki having seen what it did to Priscilla.

But to her surprise, as soon as she got to him Naruto had charged for another blast. He had predicted this move and had baited her in to think he was defenseless. As the yoki began to pulse, she released her yoki in a great amount and disappear almost immediately as the ground she was previous at was obliterated.

Soon as she reappeared, she stood erect as yoki began releasing from every pore in her body. She knew she should have thought it through about provoking the six tailed demon, but she wanted to see more of his power. However, it was a bad decision as he seemed to think she was an enemy and wanted to erase her existence from the face of the earth. That was one thing she could not let happen.

"I guess I should have known better. I'm playing with fire after all…" Luciela sighed to herself before her very visage began to change as her yoki exploded around her.

But she suddenly halted her flow as she noticed the fox began to stagger around and trip over its own feet. At first she was surprise by this before she realized what was happening. "Ah, you aren't adjusted to using so much of your power for so long."

Looking over towards her, Naruto growled at her words but couldn't do a thing to prove the wrong. Kyuubi's yoki was leaving him in a hurry and it was quite painful. He had reached his limit and the fox was taking back his power not wanting to break down his tenant's body from the pressure of his yoki.

As the yoki began to fade from around him, Naruto's image became visible once more. It looked like he had seen better days, but overall, he was alright. However, he was dead tired and the stress of Kyuubi's yoki did not help.

Falling to his knees, he began to pant heavily as the entire world spun around him madly. He had a powerful migraine that made the spinning of the world even worse and every single sound made only made him shudder in pain as it felt like his head was about to split in two.

Despite the agony he was in, he knew there was someone next to him and he wasn't sure how it was. Hell, his senses were completely useless at the moment as every time he tried to get a hold of himself, he lost control and everything became a blur once more. He cursed at this, but knew that this was going to happen after he released the fox's power.

As his vision began to darken, Naruto tried to fight himself to his feet but it seemed like he was fighting an uphill battle. But to his surprise, he was suddenly lifted off the ground entirely by the collar of his cloak. He didn't like the feeling, but he really couldn't do anything against it as he didn't have a handle on what was going on at the moment.

"Well, you are coming home with me. I could use a strong man like you at my side and finally break the balance of power between me and the others." He heard a woman's voice.

Never hearing the voice before, he was unsure what was going to happen now. He swore he could hear Teresa and Clare, but he couldn't make them out as his eyes flickered before they finally shut. He couldn't starve off unconsciousness any longer and fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Luciela began to release her yoki once more, getting ready to go home, when Teresa stepped in front of her with her claymore drawn. Looking at the Claymore oddly, Luciela only shrugged her shoulders as she did not deem the woman a threat at the moment. She could tell if the woman was at peek condition, she would have to worry but as of now, she was the stronger of the two.

"Let go of him!" Teresa growled as she stepped in front of the Abyssal of the south, unafraid of what could happen. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, she believed that recovering Naruto was still a possibility.

Luciela gaffed at the warrior's statement. She wanted her, Luciela of the South, to let go of her prize. "That is not going to happen. I've laid claim to him soon as I felt his presence. It isn't often a human has the power of demons and not only that, have power that surpasses our own. He is a great find and may be what I need to rule these lands."

Teresa knew that she wasn't going to reason with the Abyssal one. In fact, she could tell that the awakened being didn't even fear her as of now. There was some hesitation; however, it was not there any longer. Luciela knew that she wasn't ready for another fight and could defeat her with ease.

Still, she prided herself on her abilities and even if she could not win this fight, it was possible for her to get Naruto out of her clutches and escape with Clare and Irene. With a quick burst of her yoki, she lashed out toward Luciela.

But to her dismay, Luciela simply disappeared and had taken Naruto with her and was no where to be seen.

Falling to her knees, Teresa dropped her claymore before driving her fist into the ground. She could not keep her end of the bargain and therefore not only failed the blonde, but herself. After punching the ground a few more times, Teresa slowly stood up as Irene and Clare walked besides her.

"Irene… You can go now. You know as well as I do you cannot completely your mission now." Teresa commented darkly as she picked up her claymore and sheathed it as she looked forward.

"I would go back… But they would execute me on the spot for failing to take your head and allowing Priscilla to awaken. …And to be honest, I rather like where my head is. And you know as well as I do that they will train warriors to take us out easily. So maybe we can join forces to take care of anything they throw our way." Irene countered back as she stood besides Teresa.

Teresa didn't bother to respond to Irene as she knew that it was the truth. Instead, she searched for the faintest trace of either Naruto's or Luciela's yoki. After a full minute, she felt a small tug on her hand and looked down to see Clare looking up at her in worry.

For once, Teresa could not smile at the young girl. Instead, she simply reached down and lifted the girl onto her chest and held her tightly as she found a small trace of yoki in the distance and was going to follow it.

As she was about to do so, she stopped before glancing in Irene's direction. "Follow me if you want, Irene. I don't care either way. I have a job to finish."

Irene looked at Teresa for a moment as she began to walk away before walking after her, walking at her side. But after a few moment of silence, which Irene didn't mind too much, she had to speak. "So what is so important that you're traveling into the south?"

Teresa's reply was simple, but it stopped Irene in her tracks as the words echoed in her mind.

"I'm going after Luciela of the South."

* * *

**A/N2:** Well, this chapter was a little short of my target of at eight thousand words. What makes it worse was that I originally planned for this to be two separate chapters but it worked out better this way. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and despite the shortness and yet another cliff hanger. If you have any questions that have not been answered as of yet, please leave a review so I can get back to you. Now Peace out as I'm pretty sure the new Claymore chapter is coming out soon.


	5. Luciela's Love

**A/N:** And yet another chapter. I was planning on getting this update for the forth of July, but there was some trouble with it and I really didn't have too much time to write a lot. Anyways, here is the fifth chapter of A Red Dawn, Luciela's Love?.

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore

* * *

The mountainous forest was alive with animals on the prowl, looking to fill their bellies. But they stayed away from the only area of the forest that was lit. While the fire deterred most creatures, the even more brazen ones stayed away as it felt like a monster was waiting for them, ready to slay them and devour their flesh.

While they were unsure what it was, they didn't care. Because whatever it was, the animals stayed away as the air seemed to be filled with such raw emotions that they were afraid to even approach.

Next to the said fire, Bishou no Teresa sat with her eyes ablaze as she stared off into the distance.

Irene sighed as she knew that something was wrong with Teresa. She had a feeling it had to deal with the man that the Abyssal of the South had taken a few days ago. In fact she was sure it was as there would be no reason to actively hunt down an Abyssal one as, despite Teresa's power, the Abyssals had far more experience and that was what kept any number one from actively chasing down the three of power.

Still, she didn't understand why the young man's importance was. That was one thing Teresa had not answered no matter how many times she asked. And it didn't help that the young girl would not talk to her at all. She was just ready to forget the entire thing and just go with it, but she couldn't. She had to know why they had to go after Luciela.

Looking at Clare, Irene had to admit the girl had been rather quiet and didn't speak more then a few words and those words were all directed to Teresa, if she wasn't calling the former number one by name. If she had to guess, she was being so quiet because she could sense Teresa's mood and didn't want to upset her further.

Sighing as she pulled out a rare passion fruit from her waist pouch, Irene took a small bite before setting it down. The bite was enough to satisfy her for now; however, she pulled out another before tossing it to Teresa. "Eat. It will do you no good if you don't at least eat something."

Teresa automatically caught the fruit but it seemed that she wasn't paying attention at first before she slowly took a small bite of it. Almost instantly, she felt better for it but she was still in a rather foul mood. Apparently the yoki that she had been following was just an awaken being that use to be a single digit warrior.

That alone had irritated her but the fact that there was no trace of Naruto or Luciela of the South made it even worse. All she knew was that the Abyssal one ruled the lands she had claimed below the man of the north and the witch of the west. That was all she had to go on outside of searching for their presences within the lands beyond the mountain cliffs.

"It's odd." Teresa mumbled to herself before she took another bite of the sweet fruit. "Why would the Abyssal of the South cross the border of her lands and the north just to claim one human? Despite his supernatural powers, you would think she would be more careful as Easley could consider it a possible attempt to take over of his land."

Irene looked at Teresa with some shock as it was the first time Teresa had really spoke to her since she told her that she was planning on going after Luciela. But that lasted only for a moment as she thought about what Teresa had said.

It really didn't make sense for Luciela to take such a risk knowing the man of the north could respond. And the last thing that anyone needed was two Abyssals warring with one another as the damage could be catastrophic for everyone.

After a few moments, Irene another took a bite before nodding in agreement with Teresa. "Yes, it almost doesn't make sense. …But you felt the power he displayed and I cannot believe that the Abyssals did not feel it. If she knew she could recover him and have him join her, no one would make a move against her due to the balance of power shifting into her favor. The Abyssals of the North and West and even the organization would refuse to touch her in fear of his retaliation."

Frowning as she hadn't thought of that, Teresa closed her eyes before throwing the remainder of the fruit into the fire. She remembered what Luciela had said when she confronted her making her frown deeper as it seemed that was Luciela's plan all along. However, there was one thing the awakened being could not predict.

And that was going to be Naruto.

She wasn't sure how the blonde would react, but she doubted that he would willingly stay with her. Naruto did not seem to be the type of person to stay if someone was forcing him and would just flat out leave. That was a problem in and on its own as if she got there and Naruto had already left, not only would she have to deal with a pissed Abyssal one, she would have to find him.

Opening her eyes, they trailed over to Clare as she thought this. The green stone necklace that Naruto had given her was still glowing softly around her neck. She wasn't sure what it was doing, but the necklace was something important to the blonde and he would more then likely seek them out.

Turning from Clare, Teresa sighed softly as she looked towards Irene. "It seems to be that way. But I doubt that Naruto is going to willingly stick with her and cause her a hell of a lot of trouble by trying to get away. I'm not saying he can't succeed, but I have a good feeling that it will take a while for him to fully recover."

"So in other words, the faster we find Luciela the easier it will be to get him out of her clutches." Irene commented as she finished her passion fruit before throwing it into the fire as well.

Teresa shook her head as she laid down and looked up at the stars. "No. Despite my persistence on finding them quickly, I have no intention of immediately getting him out of there. The risk would be too great as he won't be fully recovered and Luciela would fight harder then normal to keep him within her boundaries."

Irene was more confused then ever as she listened to Teresa explain herself. While she knew that latter parts, it seemed that Teresa intention was to attack Luciela and dragged the blonde out of the southern lands. Gathering up what she had, she pieced together a reply. "Okay, then when will you strike as you don't know how long it will take for to recover or even wake at that? For all we know he could have gone into a coma after releasing the amount of power he did."

"I'll admit that is a very likely possibility. But it is not one that I'm not prepared for." Teresa half heartily admitted as she lifted herself from the ground just enough to look Irene in the eyes. "As you know, the odds of us winning even with our combined powers our chances are just about split down the middle. Now I know I'm nearly as strong as Luciela, but she edges me out in in almost every ability giving her a distinct advantage."

"Now, if Noel and Sophia had made it, I would have said we go straight in and get him out of there. But with just the two of us… We have to wait for Naruto to wake once more before we can make out move. So for now, we will track Luciela and wait until he wakes." Teresa finished before she laid back down and closed her eyes.

Partially understanding, Irene picked her claymore from the ground and began sharpen the blade, not that it really needed it. Without even looking up from her blade, she spoke in her usual stoic tone. "What are you going to do about the girl during all of this then? It isn't like she can go with us when an Abyssal is involved."

Teresa's eyes snapped open at Irene's question. The one thing she had forgot to calculate into her thoughts was Clare. Despite how much she cared for the young brunette, she had completely forgot her in her quest to recover the blonde so they might find an outside world and live in peace from the organization and yoma.

Clenching her first a few times, Teresa sat up before looking straight towards Clare before closing her eyes. "I don't know. I just cannot leave her as she means the world to me. But with him, I can get her away from this place and find a new home so she can live without fear."

Listening to Teresa with her attention fully on her sword, Irene thought for a moment about how to reply. "Is it possible that you are so caught up in what happened that you forgot what was most important to you? I know that starting all over again somewhere new sounds great, but will it really last and is it even possible?"

Ignoring the growling coming from Teresa, Irene continued on with her little speech while keeping her voice just low enough not to wake Clare. "Furthermore, despite the efforts of the best sailors in these lands, not a single person has found evidence that there is another world out there. While we do know he is from another world, there is nothing to tell us where he is from. At best, his arrival her was a freak accident and we have no way to get to his home land."

Frowning at Irene's words, blood began to leak from her hands as she clenched her fist tightly. She hated to admit it, but Irene was right. She had been caught up in everything that she had forgotten that Clare's protection and survival was most important. Irene was also right about the odds of finding another land even knowing that the blonde was from another world.

Turning away from Clare, Teresa's gaze landed on Irene letting her silver eyes bore into the elf-like woman. "Then what do you propose I do?"

"Choose what your heart tells you." Irene answered as she looked away from her blade and Teresa into the eyes. "Do you want to go after this Naruto, who you barely know, just because there is a chance that he can take you and the girl to a new land and possibly lose the girl in the process of retrieving him? Or do you want this girl to live her life to the fullest her, letting the young man to his fate and maybe he escapes and returns? Those are your only two choices Teresa, so choose wisely."

"I can't lose Clare." Teresa answered without a moment's hesitation before she continued. "However, I will not let him suffer after he willing took a fatal blow for me. He saved my life, so I'm going to repay the favor and get him away from Luciela before anything can happen to him."

Irene sighed as she thought she was making head way with Teresa. She hated the fact that her former superior happened to be very stubborn and in some cases, very dense. Rubbing her temples softly, she looked towards her fellow platinum blonde before speaking in a somewhat annoyed tone. "And do you think he would want you to come after him? I really doubt it after seeing what he did for both of you."

Teresa was very close to grabbing her claymore and knocking Irene out. She knew that the elvin woman was right despite wanting to say otherwise.

Seeing this, Irene sighed once more before stabbing her sword into the ground behind her and leaned back onto it. "Do what you want, Teresa. I can't force you one direction or another Just remember this Teresa, your decision will impact more then just you."

Watching Irene close her eyes, Teresa was more frustrated then ever and now had nothing to vent on as Irene had backed off. Growling to herself, she picked up her claymore before walking away from the camp.

After she was a good distance away, she readied her sword in front of her before closing her eyes. Focusing on only herself, she opened her eyes before lightly slashing her sword through the air in front of her. With each swing, she picked up velocity before she suddenly sliced through a nearby tree without the slightest trouble.

But her swings still were picking up power and speed as she gracefully slashed through the trees as if they were merely paper. As the trees began to fall, she seemingly danced around them with untold elegance and passion before she began to slice through the falling trees, turning them into mulch without the slightest problem.

Twenty minutes passed and she continued to level the trees in her section until she had enough. Looking at the damage she had caused, Teresa closed her eyes before speaking ever so softly to herself. "This power I have… Is it enough to protect Clare if I attempt to rescue him?"

Opening her eyes and gazing at her blade, she made one last slash, this one into the earth. "I need to become stronger. I have to become stronger so not only can I protect Clare, I can get him back and finally leave this place."

With her last words, she turned back to the camp.

Naruto could wait for now. She would have to become stronger before she could help him.

* * *

"Ugh… Oh man, what did I do last night?" Naruto muttered as he finally began to regain consciousness.

Everything was a blur to the blonde shinobi. He couldn't think of what happened the night before or see anything at all. In fact, he was so dazed that he was unsure of what happened in the last few days.

All he could remember was a young brunette that was eight to ten years younger then himself and a mysterious platinum blonde. He could not remember either of their names and he could barely remember their faces. It was quite strange as he had a good memory and not to remember their names and what he was doing with them was puzzling.

As his vision began to clear, he noticed he was in a rather luxurious room filled with what seemed to be priceless trinkets.

He also noted there was dozens of pictures hanging from the wall. Most of them had two young girls, one with brunette haired that just a tad off from being called a red head and another with light brown hair. There were a few that the two girls were with, who he figured to be their parents, as one had dark red hair and the other had a very light brown, almost blonde hair.

However, none of the pictures seemed to be of either the woman or young girl he was traveling with. So this left him to wonder whose bedroom he was in when.

His question was answer when he tried to lifted himself off the bed to only feel a ton of pressure on his chest.

Looking down at an awkward angle, Naruto was surprised to see a woman with the same hair color as the girl in the picture. He was confused as to why she was sleeping in the same bed with him and was sleeping almost on top of him. However, he quickly came up with an idea as he cringed as he noted that she was wearing a very revealing night gown that did not hide much of her figure.

"Oh crap… Did I sleep with her?" Naruto said, repulsed with himself, as he ran his hands over his face in embarrassment as he realized he was wearing nothing but his boxers. "Damn, I thought I had better self control then that… What the hell did I all drink last night?"

"Nothing. And no we didn't do that if that is what you are referring to, but I wouldn't mind if we did that so much." The woman suddenly answered without even lifting her head from his chest or even opening her eyes.

Naruto found himself clinging to the roof with chakra as his heart was beating a mile a second after she spoke. Despite all his training, he was severely surprised by her voice and couldn't help but jump up like a jackrabbit. As he began to calm down a little, he slowly let himself back down to only notice that she was giving him a very odd look.

"Wow, I've heard about being jumpy but that is something new altogether." She commented while trying not to laugh at the blonde haired shinobi as she sat up on the bed.

Under normal circumstances, Naruto would have grumbled some obscenities under his breath. But this wasn't normal circumstances as he had no clue where he was or who she was. To make things worse, he couldn't sense the presence of the woman he was traveling with so he knew she wasn't here.

Frowning at this, he gave her a dirty look before calming himself down. "Where exactly am I and who are you? …And where is Teresa and Clare?" As he finished, he remember the girl's and woman's names

"My name is Luciela; you are in one of my many homes here in the southern land." She answered immediately as she stood up before walking over to a door and opening it to reveal a walk in closet full of dresses and many other clothes.

Without warning, Naruto was forced to look away as he blushed a deep crimson color as she walked in and threw off her night gown before picking out a dress. She smirked to herself as she heard him mumbling under his breath as she put her dress on before answering his last question. "As for this Teresa and Clare, I don't know. I really didn't stay long enough to learn any of the Claymores' names when I took you away from that place."

All alarms where going off in Naruto's mind as he heard the last words from her mouth. He was ready to defend himself if necessary and get away from the area. However, there was a few problems with escaping. He had no clue where his clothes or where his pack was and even if he escaped, where would he go as he had no place to call home here.

Growling as he could not leave his equipment behind, he watched Luciela walk out of the closet wearing a green dress, similar to what she wore a few days earlier. He didn't care to notice this he clenched his fists tightly and glared at her. "What did you do to them and where is my equipment?"

Luciela could sense that he was uneasy just by a quick look. She really couldn't blame him for being so as she had counted on him being quite hostile for a while until he adjusted. To put him at ease, she reached into her closet before pulling out the clothes she had stripped off him. "I did not do a single thing to them. I merely came for you as your power has perked my curiosity."

"As for your equipment, I'll be keeping that for a while. I don't want to arm you until you are comfortable around me and I can trust you." Luciela continued before throwing his clothes towards him. "I also took the liberty of repairing your clothes and bringing some of the color back out in them."

Catching them, Naruto unfolded his cloak to see that it almost looked new again, despite still being somewhat faded. While he was grateful to get his clothes back, not having his weapons or his scrolls troubled him. While he could leave without them, he rather not as he carried some of his most treasured possessions within scrolls in his pouch.

He thought about just attacking her and taking his pouch, but he wasn't too confident he could win without resorting to Kyuubi's power. He needed at least a week cool down after using as many tails as he did before he could even begin to use the fox's yoki once again. To top things off, he could tell the woman was on a level on her own that was just beyond his making him doubt his ability to defeat her without his weapons.

Another problem was that he had no clue where she could have hidden his equipment. She could have put them anywhere and the fact that she had many homes over the southern land meant that it didn't even have to be any where close to where they were now. That put a severe damper on any escape attempts he had as he refused to leave any of his precious treasures behind without knowing how long he would be away.

Throwing his clothes on his shoulder, he took a deep breath before speaking not to allow any of his anger out in his voice. "Where is your bathroom?"

"The door right behind you." Luciela simply answered before walking towards the last remaining door in the room and opened it. "I'm going to start lunch seeing it is just past noon. So take all the time you need to freshen up."

Watching as she walked out and closed the door behind her, Naruto frowned deeply before creating a shadow clone to keep an eye on her as he entered the bathroom. He wasn't sure what to think of what was going on. But he would know soon enough.

* * *

Luciela happily hummed to herself as she flipped the pancake over to toast the other side just perfectly. It had been a while since she had attempted to cook human food, but she still found it to be oddly peaceful. It reminded her of the times that she cooked for her father and her little sister after their mother had passed away.

Sighing as old memories began to resurface; she closed her eyes and tried to think about something else. Her thoughts ended up shifting to the blonde she had claimed as she flipped the pancake off the skillet and onto a plate, already stacked with a little over ten on it.

From the little she had gathered from his personality, she could tell a few things about him and one was he was extremely loyal. That was a big plus for her is she could gain his trust, he would at least stay at her side and the other Abyssal would hesitate to try anything against her. She could also march against them and possibly even the organization if they over stepped their boundaries.

Another quirk she picked up from him was that he seemed to be a drinker, a partier or both. While that would make him fun to be around, she would have to keep him tamed otherwise he would go wild on her and despite her nature, she would not look forward to stopping him if he were to get out of control.

Finally, he seemed to have a sense of justice and villainy to him. She wasn't sure how she knew as there was nothing that led her to this conclusion, but his demeanor just seemed to fit the part. If anything, he seemed to be like a vigilante that fought for what he believed to be right even if it wasn't. This was a trait she wasn't sure if it was going to help or not. She wasn't even sure if he indeed possessed it, but if he did she would not know how to treat it.

Hearing the bedroom door open, she watched him walk out with his cloak slightly opened. His face seemed to be blank making her wonder what he was thinking about, but she said nothing as she put the plate of pancakes onto the table before walking over to one of the cabinet in the kitchen and pulling out some butter and a few different types of syrup and placing them besides the table.

"Here you go! I decided to make pancakes as I didn't know what you liked. I hope you enjoy them!" Luciela chirped in a happy tone, trying to lift him out of his blank mood.

It really didn't seem to work that much as he merely nodded and thanked her softly. She frowned as he seemed to be attempting to seclude himself from her. While she had suspected that he would probably do so, she was hoping he wouldn't as it would make it difficult for her to reach him.

Looking around the room, Naruto sat down at the table before taking a slice of butter and slathering it on top pancake. He really wasn't paying attention all too much to it as he wasn't too hungry. He was paying more attention to what decorated the place so he could get a firm grasp of what Luciela was like. He didn't like it much that he was going to have to stay here for a while, but he needed his equipment before he could leave.

All the rooms seemed to be connected into one large room as there was no walls or doors except for the ones that led outside or into the back rooms.

The living room had nothing but a few small, but comfortable chairs surrounding a coffee table. There was few paintings along the wall and they all seemed to be personally done by Luciela as they were either of her family, her sister or herself. The dining room was similar to the living room in the fact that there were a few slightly less comfortable chairs surrounding the dinner table.

As he reached for the syrup, his eyes landed on an all too familiar weapon. A larger then normal, claymore sword with a cross-like symbol etched into the base of the blade hanging off a rack.

His gaze instantly turned to her as he saw this before he frowned. "You use to be a warrior like Teresa and the others, didn't you? What caused you to become… What you are?"

Luciela sighed softly before she sat down in the chair opposing his. Looking over at her old blade, she nodded before closing her eyes as the memories flashed before her once more. "I did at one point. But the organization tried to test both my sister's and my abilities and it failed horribly as I could not be brought back and I went berserk and destroyed everything I could."

Naruto could hear the sorrow in the woman's voice. It wasn't because that she had transformed, though. It seemed that she was glad that she had transcended her human limits. "I see… It seems like you miss her."

"I do. She is all I have left in this world." Luciela answered back before standing up and walking into the living room, which was right besides the dining room and kitchen, before seating herself on a softer chair as she pulled out a book from underneath her dress. "Eat please… There are things we have to do today."

Not going to question her, Naruto poured the syrup onto his pancakes before he carved into them and ate at a regular pace.

Once he was finished and had rinsed his place off, he walked into the living room. As he did so, he instantly recognized the book she was reading and frowned. "You know, it isn't polite to go through someone else's things without asking."

Luciela smirked at him before she responded by turning the page. "Well, I read the other book you had and I must say, I want to try a few of those acts. I think they would be quite _pleasurable._"

Naruto wisely backed off before muttering to himself while being glad that his cloak concealed his lower half of his body. "Never mind… Just take care of the book, please. That book was written by my sensei and it carries his will on to this day."

Smirking as she could sense that he was semi-aroused by her taunt, Luciela closed the book before laying it down onto the coffee table before standing up and stretching. "Alright, let's get going…"

"The name is the same as in the book." Naruto responded as he waited for Luciela to lead the way, not sure what they were going to be doing or where in the world they were heading.

"Whoa… Is the book base on you or something?" Luciela asked as she tilted her head at him in a cat-like fashion as she was curious to know.

Shaking his head and rolling his yes, Naruto picked up his book before pocketing it into his cloak's hidden pocket. "No, that book was written before I was born. My sensei actually based that story off his first pupil as he believed he was the one that could change the world. My father ended up being his next pupil and read the book and when I was born, he decide to give me that name as he wanted me to carry on our sensei's legacy."

Nodding her head as she kind of understood what he was talking about, Luciela took the book from his pocket before continuing to read it as she walked to the door. "Alright then, come on. We're going out for a stroll through my lands."

Almost face faulting at what she had said before sighing to himself. "And here I thought you had something important to do…"

"Hey!" Luciela countered as she looked away from the Legend of the Gutsy Ninja and towards Naruto. "We could go back into the bedroom and test out some of what that other book had written in it."

Naruto could only shake his head before smirking to himself as he walked besides her and opened the door. "As flattered as I am that you would wish to perform such acts with myself, I don't know you very well and your breasts aren't big enough to perform one of those acts."

For the next hour, Naruto was laughing as he sprinted for his life as Luciela chased after him, screaming obscenities at him for calling her small chested.

He just loved getting a rise out of women, no matter who they were.

* * *

As the sun began to set, Naruto and Luciela stood on top of the tallest mountain in the region, or at least that was what Luciela told him.

The view was quite majestic, Naruto had to admit. Even more surprising was all this belonged to Luciela as there was no one else to challenge her for it. He had to wonder about this as despite how strong she was he knew that if she was the only one with this kind of strength the organization she hailed from would have no problem about coming after her.

"Luciela… I have a question to ask." Naruto spoke suddenly as his eyes caught movement in the forest below and he quickly realized it was an awakened by the amount of yoki it was unleashing.

"Hm, what is it?" Luciela responded as she had caught the movement as well and knew all too well what it was. She was just waiting for it to pass by as it wasn't worth her time to deal with it.

Shrugging his shoulders as she was ignoring it, he would ignore it to as it posed no threat to him. "Well, the first thing that comes to mind is why do you only live here in the south? The aura you possess is far beyond anything I felt here except for that girl that awakened and the woman I was traveling with. So why not live over the entire continent?"

Keeping an eye on the awakened as it seemed to be heading closer and closer to them, Luciela turned towards Naruto as it seemed he knew nothing of this world. While this was good as it would mean he would be less inclined to try and escape, but it also meant he wouldn't know how to deal with certain things when they happened. "I cannot leave these lands because of the organization and two other awakens with equivalent power to mine."

"There are others that power is equal to yours?" Naruto question as that was not something he wanted to hear. Honestly, one or two people that were stronger then he was without Kyuubi was tolerable, but to have a handful was not funny. He prided himself for being one of the strongest around and to hear that there were others even stronger then him was unbearable.

Luciela couldn't help but smirk as she could smell his desire. It was intoxicating to her that he was so powerful on his own yet he wanted to get more powerful. That was something she was definitely going to like about him; that was sure.

Putting her thoughts aside, she answered Naruto with a quick nod. "Yes… As you saw with that girl, we are what happens when a Claymore goes over their limits and/or can no longer control the yoki inside of them. …In the history of this world, there has been only three cases where the number one has awakened. One was during the era of men and the others were during our time, the era of female warriors. I was one of these cases when the organization was testing to see if I could fully awaken and then have my sister bring me back.

"Afterwards, I came here to settle in the south as the man had taken the north and the other woman had taken the west. I could not take the east as the organization is based there and despite my abilities, I know the organization has the strength to defeat me if I had rested there. I couldn't live in the north and west either as neither of them would have taken too kindly to me moving onto their turf. That is why I can only live here in the south." Luciela finished before her eyes gaze below.

"Now, aren't you stupid?" Luciela commented as the awakened being that they had spotted earlier had climbed up the mountain in search of food, probably Naruto. "You complete ignored that I was here and I have claimed him. That is unacceptable…"

Faster then Naruto could blink, one of Luciela's two tails swept from underneath her dress before it slithered back under the dress. With that one strike, the head of the awakened slid off and tumbled down the rocky cliffs of the mountain and its body soon followed suit as Luciela kicked it off as it slumped onto the ground.

Naruto was mildly shocked at the speed of Luciela's attacked and made a mental note to avoid those tails as they could be the end of him before he could even put up a fight.

Shaking that off, he walked down to Luciela before following the trail they followed to get up there. He stayed quiet as she answered what he wanted to know and he got a bonus piece of information that would be helpful once he acquired his gear and could escape.

"Now, I have a question for you." Luciela spoke breaking his concentration as they headed down the mountain.

Giving her a slight nod to ask it, Naruto waited until she stopped in front of him and looked him into the eyes. "What is it that is distracting you? You've been looking off into the distance all day and seemed to be thinking about something. Despite my skills, I've known all day that you could escape. I want to know what is keeping you from doing so."

He was not expecting that question. She somehow read him well enough throughout the day that she knew he wanted to escape. Despite what he been telling himself, he could have escaped without his stuff. While he would have to come back for it later, he could have left at any moment.

Sighing out loud, he tapped his wrist before a kunai suddenly appeared in his hand. "You are right, I could have escaped any moment I've wanted to and I have enough weapons sealed onto me and in this cloak that it wouldn't matter. My stuff is important and all, but not enough to keep me here. I'm not trying to escape right now as I have no place to go. My home isn't even on this continent and I do not know where to go to try and find it."

Seeing him put away the kunai as it apparently was part of his demonstration, Luciela frowned. He was lost and was trying to find his way back. That was the only thing keeping him from leaving. Now that was a good thing that he was staying on his own free will, but how long would he stay because after he got the rest of his things he more then likely would just leave.

But if he was happy, he could keep him with her and she knew one thing that would keep him there. "If I help you find your way home, will you stay with me?"

"What?!" Naruto barked as she surprised him with what she said and wasn't too sure that he heard her correctly.

Luciela sighed before walking over and standing in front of him as she looked him into the eyes. "I said, if I can get you back home, will you become my mate as where I am does not matter? The further I am from this world, the better as this world has become boring and I'm looking for new lands to rule."

This really didn't help Naruto's nerves as his entire body froze as he looked Luciela in the eyes. While he did indeed wish to return home, she wanted him to stay with her and become her life partner.

Regaining his composure, he sighed before crossing his arms and looking back into her eyes. "And why would you do that for someone like me? And why would you want me? I'm not the best person out there especially because I harbor a demon."

"Because you are mine and I want only you." Luciela simply answered as she smiled at him. "Sure, you have a demon within you but I am one and I have to admit, its power has attracted me to you. However, you seem like a person that can accept me for who I am and not care what I have to do to survive."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond but shut it almost immediately as she had a good point at the end. He was slightly put out by the Kyuubi portion but he was use to Kyuubi screwing with things, whether it be good or bad. But the first thing had him questioning everything she had said. "I belong to you?"

Luciela nodded as her smile grew even more as she tilted her head at him. "Of course silly. I claimed you soon as I sensed your presence and you belong to me. And you being good looking is icing on the cake."

Giving her a flat stare, despite how flattered he was from her compliment, Naruto's eyes twitched as he belonged to no single person. Still, the deal she was offered him, while not unlike Teresa's, was tempting. But he did not want to give himself away just to achieve that one goal.

"How about this, I will stay with you until you find a way for me to return back home. During that time, I will help you in whatever you are trying to accomplish in this world. But once you do find a way back to my world, I'll decide then to whether or not be your mate." Naruto attempted to compromise as he was trying to avoid having to get himself involved in a serious relationship.

"Sounds quite fair." Luciela commented as she looked over at the blonde. She did not like the part that he had a choice in being her mate, but there was a way around that. "I will accept, however, if you do not accept becoming my mate I will not tell you how to return to your home."

Refraining from growling, Naruto bit his lip. He knew he had left that open, but he really didn't have much of a choice. He really wanted to go home and get back to the Akatsuki, but his chances were low and if he did not accept her counter offer they would drop even lower.

Looking up towards the darkening sky as if searching for an answer, he sighed before he looked towards Luciela and nodded. "I'll give you my word. I will stay with until you can find a way back to my home and will become your mate to get back."

Luciela squealed loudly in excitement as she jumped into the air. Soon as she landed, she grabbed Naruto by the wrist and literally began to drag him back towards the house that she brought him to before.

Naruto began to regret his decision as he struggled to keep up with the Abyssal one as she dragged him down the cliff. Just what was she going to get him into during the time it took her to find his homeland?

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this, Teresa? I don't really want to do this if your going to save that man." Irene asked as she held her claymore in front of her.

She had to parry Teresa's response as the woman slashed towards her abdomen. Irene cursed at this before jumping back and gripping her sword tightly. "I guess that is a yes then."

"I want to become stronger for her and the only way for that to happen is to be taught by the best in their own fields. If I become strong enough to rescue him, so be it but I'm doing this for her so I can fight an Abyssal one on equal footing if something like that day happens again." Teresa answered as she held her claymore in front of her while staring into Irene's eyes.

Hearing Teresa's answer, Irene sighed once more before sheathing her sword behind her. Almost instantly, slash marks began to appear besides her as she tore the ground asunder with her ultimate technique.

"Then I shall teach you the Quick Sword, Bishou no Teresa."

* * *

**A/N2:** Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The first scene was kind of hard to write and if it doesn't flow correctly, well that is the reason why. Now if there is anything that you don't understand or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask as I'll get back to you ASAP if I can give you an answer without giving away the future of my story.

Seeing that _DragonBlade00_ was kind enough to promote this story, I will do the same for his Naruto/Claymore crossover, Naruto in the Claymore's Universe. It is a good read and check it out if you are enjoying this one.

As of now, I am looking for a full time beta for this story as I only have a temporary beta for the summer. If any one is intrested, please either leave a review or PM about the job. Anyways, I'm out of here. Peace out.


	6. The Witch's Trap

**A/N:** Sorry for the mistakes last chapter. I had a small lapse in writing and no one beta'd the chapter. I'm still searching for a beta for this story, so if anyone is interested in the job, let me know. I seriously need a beta to catch my mistakes, inform me of them and give me feed back on how to make the chapter better. Outside of that… Here is the sixth chapter of A Red Dawn, The Witch's Trap!

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore.

* * *

Time had passed rather quickly for Teresa as she stood in a dark clearing with Irene with the only lighting being the stars that shone brightly in the night sky.

They no longer wore the armor the organization had given them outside of their swords holster.

Irene had gone with a deep brown one piece suit with no leggings. She wore brown pair of boots that stretched just beyond her knees and had belts that strapped to her one piece top and on each arm; she wore sleeves with black straps to keep them from shifting while she moved her arms with high velocity.

Teresa had decided to wear a dark, navy blue one piece dress with a skirt that reached her knees and had no sleeves. She also wore a black pair of thick boots that reached beyond her knees and were buckled to her dress. She had two long sleeved, fingerless gloves with steel arm guards, to parry weaker strikes, that reached just centimeters from her shoulders.

In fact, the only thing they both agreed on was black cloaks, Teresa's being slightly different as her collar covered the bottom portion of her face when she had it buttoned to the top.

Teresa did not believe Irene's technique would be this hard to learn, but it was. Two years had passed. And after all that time, she had just surpassed the speed of Irene's Quick Sword.

She had always out matched her in power and accuracy even when she first came out of training. Combined with her unequaled ability to read yoki, she could see Irene's attack before it ever happened. But the fact was that Irene had the faster sword until now. She was now faster then Quick Sword Irene.

Irene coughed blood as she dropped her claymore and fell onto all fours. She had been surprised that Teresa had just matched her speed and for a brief moment, she had even gone beyond it and slashed into her right shoulder and partially into the chest. But it made no difference. She was a defensive type and could easily regenerate the wound and would be in fighting condition when morning came.

"It seems… That you have finally surpassed me in every area, Teresa." Irene weakly commented as she smiled, ignoring the small amount of blood leaking from the corner of her lips.

With only a nod, Teresa sheathed her sword before she took a few steps to stand in front of Irene and offered her a hand. The elvin woman did not refuse the gesture and she slowly helped her onto her feet. Once Irene was on her feet, she grabbed Irene's sword before she wrapped the woman's arm around her neck and began to help her walk.

After a few moments of walking, a cabin slowly began to become visible. It wasn't too big, but it was just enough for the two warriors and the young girl that traveled along side of them.

Opening the door, Teresa led Irene as quietly as possible to the one of the three beds they had laid out across the room before gently laying the worn out woman onto it. Despite how hard Irene was training her, Irene was the one to wear out first and had grown tired. The difference between their abilities was just too great and she could not keep up with Teresa.

When she was about to pull away, Irene grabbed her glove tightly before pulling her closer as she spoke softly. "Teresa… what are you planning to do? I know you can't just settle down… So what are you going to do?"

Sighing, Teresa pried Irene's hand off easily before she stood up straight as she looked down at the elvin woman. "I'm not sure yet, but I know we cannot stay here for long. The amount of yoki we have been using since we arrived here will attract new hunters, maybe some powerful enough to even defeat us. …And to be perfectly honest, I'm thinking of hunting for him again."

Irene frowned as she heard this and attempted to sit up but found herself pushed into the bed as Teresa looked her in the eye. "I'm not going after Luciela if that is what you are thinking. I just want to see if he's gotten away… And if he has, we can at least get a boat of this forsaken place and try to find a new land. It is better then waiting here for hunters to take come and take our heads."

"And if he hasn't?" Irene countered as she was not looking forward to a date with an Abyssal despite how much more powerful Teresa had became over the past two years.

It wasn't just the Quick Sword Teresa had learned. She had been focusing on increasing her own power, speed and agility. And the results were obvious to anyone that could see. Teresa could match an Abyssal one even with their experience. While winning still a split decision, the former number one could defeat the Abyssal with Irene's help.

The only problem that remained was the young girl, Clare. She knew that Teresa would not leave Clare behind unless the girl was in excellent hands or they were close enough that they could quickly respond to whatever the threat was. So how would she be able to hunt the boy down if he was still with Luciela of the South?

Teresa merely shrugged at Irene's question before she turned around before laying her cloak on the open bed. "I doubt that he would stay with her for any reason outside of helping return him to his homeland and if that is the case… We just might have to work with Luciela."

"Do you realize what you are saying?!" Irene hissed but managed to keep it low enough that it would not wake Clare.

All Teresa did in response was nod as she sat down on the same bed she laid her cloak on before gazing over at her foster child.

The young girl had grown a few inches over the years. Her hair was much the same as it was but now it was to her hips. Teresa was thinking about cutting it as it was getting too long and the girl was having a hard time taking care of it when the didn't put it up in a pony tail.

Besides her bed, she had a new set of clothes laid out and, much to her ire; the clothes she picked were bright orange and black. The only good thing was that the bright orange was a purse like pouch she carried with her. She wore a black dress that reached to just above her ankles. She still wore brown boots, but they had to get a few pair as Clare was growing and would soon out grow them again.

There was one thing that she did wear, however, that made her think of Naruto. He had left his cloak-like cape behind and Clare had decided to wear it in memory of the blonde along with the necklace he had given her.

Teresa wasn't sure how or why the blonde made such an impact on the young girl, but he had. And that was the number one reason for going after him. If she was happy with him around, she was going to be damned if she wasn't going to have him around.

"I know all too well what you are saying Irene… But I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing this for Clare because she bonded to him as quickly as she did with me…" Teresa quietly answered Irene as she closed her eyes before opening them as she stood up and walked over to Clare's bed with a sad smile on her face. "And I can tell she is hurting every day that he isn't here. He made her happier then I had ever seen her in the short time we were with him then even I had…"

Irene did not say a word as she saw Teresa gently brush her hand through the young girl's hair. She had learned how important the two were to each other, but she could tell there was emptiness with the brunette's heart every time she looked at the green stone on her neck. And seeing a single tear dropping from Teresa and onto her hand, Irene turned away and closed her eyes.

There was no doubt that they would be leaving tomorrow to find Luciela of the South and this young man known as Naruto.

* * *

Naruto twitched. He couldn't stop twitching as soon as he woke up and headed to the shower, Luciela walked out with nothing on and her entire body was soaked from taking a shower.

If that wasn't bad enough, other then nature telling him he was quite pleased with what he saw, she immediately began her daily routine of courting him. This time, the courting was almost too much to resist as she once more offered to have intercourse with him. And he declined it as he had a massive hangover from the night before and his head hurt too much to think logically, or as logically as a straight man can think in that situation.

**"Why the hell are you not taking her up on her offers?! I would have screwed her in an instant if I was in your position!"** Kyuubi yelled within Naruto's mind as the said blonde ran a towel over his face as he finished drying off.

Sighing as the fox wasn't helping his hangover whatsoever, Naruto ignored him before he pulled his boxers on before putting the rest of his clothes except his cloak. Finally, he strapped his pouch to his right hip before sliding his cloak on and looking into the mirror after wiping his hand so he could see through condensation build up.

His appearance had not change over the two years he had been stuck on this continent. In fact, he looked exactly the same he did on the day he arrived. It was strange to him that his physical appearance had not changed, but he knew that there was one reason for this.

Kyuubi.

The fox was using its yoki to keep Naruto exactly the same. He was using his power to keep Naruto in his prime as they both knew that he had not reached the pinnacle of his abilities. In fact, he was far from his true potential and they both knew it. So Naruto had agreed with the fox demon to keep him from aging to keep from losing the possibility of reaching his utmost potential.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto exited the bathroom before heading out into the kitchen to see Luciela was not there. He wondered about this for a moment before he sensed her presence outside, heading further off. He had noticed that she had done this quite often ever since they had made their deal and she would return and offer him information that she had learned while she was away.

He didn't mind her leaving too much as it gave him a break from the woman's constant attention. While he was flattered and overjoyed at first that he was getting so much attention at first, it finally was beginning to wear on him. It made him feel wanted but now he was getting ready to just walk out as she had given him his equipment back.

The only thing that was keeping him here was that Luciela was actually trying to find out if anyone knew of his homeland and if there was a way back. Her search had been rather fruitless until last night, which was the reason why he currently had a hangover.

Apparently there was a sailor in the western lands of Lautrec that had said he had found a different land mass and was offering to take people there. Luciela being unable to go there herself had sent someone to negotiate with him to barter for two passengers, Naruto and her. Apparently the sailor had agreed and was the reason Luciela threw a party for him and brought home a wide selection of alcholic drinks.

There was just one problem… other then the fact that somehow he didn't get laid last night despite both of them being totally wasted.

He did not want to become her mate.

Naruto had thought it over and over again and while he had no problem with the fact that she had to devour human entrails to survive, he just did not want to be with her. She had caused him enough problems over the past two years that he wasn't sure that he could handle living the rest of his life with her. So he was going to go on his own and leave without her.

As he began to move to the door, he began to doubt his decision to leave Luciela behind.

She had been nothing but kind, if not a little eccentric, to him while he had been with her and she did everything in her power to please him. She had even began cut back on how many times she fed and who she fed on, praying more on criminals then regular citizens. Almost every day Luciela cooked his meals for him, despite his protests, saying that she enjoyed cooking as it reminded her of her family.

And all she asked in return was for him, after she trusted him enough, was to do some reconnaissance on what the witch of the west and the man of the north were doing and to become her mate when they could leave. It wasn't too much to ask for him as she had been letting him live with her for the past two years and put up with his occasional taunting and perverseness.

It wasn't helping that he did honestly liked her as she reminded him a little of Hinata, Ino and Sakura. Hinata as she seemed to genuinely care and love him, Ino as she was rather good looking and had a certain flare to her and Sakura because she was quick tempered and had a hell of a lot of strength to punish him with.

All of this was giving him a bundle of trouble. But the fact was he was not ready to settle down. He was only twenty and he wanted to get out and enjoy life some more before finding someone that he truly cared for and settling down with them. She was asking him to give up the remaineder of his youth and he knew he wasn't ready for it or if he even liked her enough to settle down with her.

But there was something he had to do back home. He had to finish his mission to bring a new beginning for the elemental countries. He had to carry out the will of his sensei and have everyone understand what he fought for.

He had to liberate Konoha from the grasp of that tyrant.

Without a second thought, he opened the door and shut it behind him as his fire burned in his eyes as he looked towards the western sky.

* * *

In a small camp site a few miles away, the bodies of several men were scattered across the ground. Blood pools surround each and every single one of their bodies as their stomachs were ripped opened and not a single piece of flesh remained within them. It was as if their guts had been hollowed out by some sort of ravenous creature.

And above the last body, Luciela of the South knelt over him as she ripped a chunk clean out of his stomach as she held the organ firmly in her hands.

She did not care about the blood that had soaked her hands or the small amount that dripped from the corners of her mouth. She savored the taste as it had been almost a month. She hadn't been able to eat as much with Naruto around and had cut her meals down to once a month as he was still human and despite his tolerance to the matter, disliked the fact that she had to feed only on humans.

This wasn't too much of a problem as he had helped a few times hunt down humans that had been causing havoc in her lands. While she didn't see what the difference was when she was eating a robber or the person they had robbed as they tasted the same, she knew it had to deal with Naruto's morality and she could deal with that. As long as she was still devouring the guts of a human, she did not care.

Taking a few more bites and finishing the last of his stomach, Luciela's entire body trembled in pleasure as the taste was so wonderful that she could not see what the harm was. Looking down at the corpse, there was still a little more but for once she was full.

Luciela frowned at this as she knew before Naruto had arrived that she could have wiped out an entire city and still not be full. But now, after his arrival, she could eat a few people and be completely content with the food in her stomach. Sure, she practice moderation before he arrived as she didn't want everyone to move from the south as then she wouldn't have any food left. But even with her moderation, she was never really full. Now, she truly was not hungry.

"Hm," Luciela mused over her suddenly drop in appetite in the past two years as she wiped the blood of her lips with one of her victim's shirts, "I guess it has to be that I'm content on having a human as my partner and I don't want to eat as much in order not to offend him. …Oh well, whatever it is, I don't care. He's a good boy to have at my side."

Getting ready to head back to their cozy little love shack, Luciela suddenly frowned as her senses caught movement from the house. Whoever it was, they were heading for the… west.

"No… He wouldn't…" Luciela tried to tell herself before she released her yoki throughout her body and transported herself to her home instantaneously.

She nearly broke the door down as she opened it and looked around, frantically trying to sense his presence within the house. But she could not find a single trace of him being there any longer.

Anger filled her entire being as her yoki began to flow uncontrollably. He had betrayed her and left on his own accord. Despite knowing that there was a good chance he would do so, Luciela couldn't help but feel beyond angry. She was seething as everything she had done for him, especially finding a way away from these lands, did not mean a damn thing to him.

Faster then one could see, Luciela was out of the house, taking the door of the hinges this time, and speeding towards the direction and path that she had felt him move toward.

He was going to pay for his treachery and hell had no fury like that of a woman scorned. And this woman was Luciela, the Abyssal of the South.

* * *

Naruto was now running full speed as he could feel that Luciela was coming after him and she was beyond pissed.

He knew at the rate she was traveling, she would catch him before he could make it into the western lands. He could not have that happen as there was no doubt in his mind that she would stop short of nothing to beat him within an inch of his life and possibly even kill him if she was angry enough.

With a great chakra burst, thousands of clones formed around him before they stopped to stall the Abyssal of the South.

There was no given on how long they would last, but he doubted that she could get rid of every single one of them before he crossed the border of the South and West. He knew she would follow him, but would have to think twice as with the amount of yoki she was pouring out would attract the witch of the West.

In fact, his chakra outage would more then likely attract the witch and he really, really was praying it didn't. If it did, he was going to have some big problems as dealing with two that were equal, if not slightly stronger then he was, could be the end of him, especially with Luciela being this furious at him.

Over the two years, he had been training to match Luciela in case if there was ever a case that he would have to face either her or one of the other two. He was confident that he could take her if came down to it, but she was the youngest of the Abyssals and possibly the weakest because of that reason. He was unsure if he could deal with either the witch or the man if he ran into them as of yet as he had yet to gage their power accurately.

She of course allowed his training as she was thrilled to watch him become even more powerful. It seemed to be on of her goals as she wanted to keep the balance of power from tilting to the others favor. He wasn't sure what this meant, however, he knew that she had been keeping a close eye on both of the other awakeneds with power and was seeing something she did not like.

A sudden burst of yoki caught his attention and he had no choice but to look behind him as the area of the forest that he left his clones had been ripped asunder as wisps of yoki exploded from the area. Naruto knew without a doubt it was Luciela and that she had transformed, something he had not seen her do during the entire time he had stayed with her.

Naruto couldn't help but shiver lightly as the power was a little beyond what he expected. But he had calculated for it and knew his clones could hold her for long enough so he could cross the border.

Once again his conscious was acting up and telling him to go back. It wasn't helping that it was sounding a lot like a certain fox trying to be his conscious. But no matter how much he agreed with all the points it was bringing up again, he was not going to go back. He had a purpose… A job to finish.

No matter how much he would hate himself for going against his own word, he had to complete his mission. It was more important to him then anything else in the world, even his own life.

He felt that Luciela was coming after him once more and was moving even faster then before, but now he could see the ocean, hear the waves crashing against the beach and smell the salt in the air. He had arrived and there was nothing that Luciela could do now… But why was there hundreds of pulses of yoki waiting for him?

As he jumped onto the beach, he frowned as he noticed there indeed was a fairly large boat waiting for him.

The only problem he had with it was that it seemed to have been impaled by many spear-like rods that ranged from a regular sized short spear to giant ten foot long three feet wide battering rams. To make things even odder, each one seemed to have their own yoki system making him believe that this was what he was sensing before. This made him wonder what their purpose was until he realized that he was having a problem trying to sense how far away Luciela was.

"What the hell are these things? They're throwing off my senses…" Naruto muttered to himself before he caught movement from above, forcing him to look up but find nothing.

Dismissing it as nothing and that his senses were going haywire here, he backed away from the boat before he looked behind him as he heard foot steps, but once again he found nothing. Beginning to get creeped out as he couldn't find anything and was not liking the situation, he was ready to leave as he did not want to deal with Luciela when a voice caught his attention.

"Ah, it seems the bait has lured the prize. It seems that woman doesn't know how to restrain her man."

Naruto froze as he hadn't even sensed the presence of this person, who he judged to be a young girl from the voice. Whatever the poles were, they were definitely not helping him as he couldn't sense whoever this was before they snuck up behind him. Slowly turning towards the sound of the voice, he saw a young girl sitting on the railing of the stern.

She had dark brown hair with a tint of black to it that stretched to her shoulder blades. She had her hair combed in a particular way as she made sure to have two locks of her hair on the side and lay on the front of her shoulders while the rest swayed behind her.

All she wore, however, was a rather flimsy, pink nightgown that seemed like it could be torn off with ease. It was made all too apparent that was all she was wearing as she was sitting above him as he was looked up and she had barely crossed her legs in time.

Shivering as that wasn't something he really wanted to see, Naruto took a step back, not sure what was going on when he bumped into something. It felt like a wall at first, but he knew better as it did feel like a person so he turned his head to see it was a towering hulk of a man that he bumped into.

Not many people were taller then Naruto, but this guy was a good foot taller and had more bulging muscles then even what he seen from Gai or Lee. His frame seemed to be slightly awkward as his arms seemed too long for his body. He had light brown hair that faded from his forehead or he had a Neanderthal type forehead. Naruto wasn't sure which but he was sure that his face was disproportionate giving him a very mean, but slow witted look to him.

He wore no shirt showing off his muscular physique and instead wore a single strap across his chest that seemed to have no apparent use. He wore dark blue pants that he tucked into two metallic boots that protected his shins.

Feeling his shoulders being grabbed, Naruto growled under his breath as he looked up at the giant of a man, who was looking at the young girl to see what he should do. He was ready to throw him off when the man spoke, unsure what to do next. "I've got him Riful… Shall I rip him in two now?"

Despite his words, Naruto didn't panic as he looked over to the young girl, which he now knew wasn't so young, and was ready to react accordingly depending on her response. After all, he didn't want to piss off a second Abyssal in the same day.

Riful could see that the blonde was preparing to make a move, but was hanging onto what she said before doing so. He rather smart as she knew her man could rip him in half rather simply with his enormous strength. However, his power was mysterious and despite knowing her man's limits quite well, she wasn't sure that he could tear him to pieces right away.

Getting back to the question her man had asked her, Riful simply shook her had at him. "No, Dauf. I said you could only kill him if he was unreasonable and refused to listen to me. Now let him go before something breaks."

Hearing him mumble under his breath about not being allowed to have fun, Naruto dusted his shoulders before popping the joints as he stretched his shoulders. Keeping a close eye on the big man as he had a feeling he had more to worry about him at the moment then he did the woman, he turned to Riful as his crossed his arms over his chest. "So what is that you want as you went through all this trouble to get me here and away from Luciela, Riful of the West."

"Ah, you heard of me!" Riful chimed as she beamed at the blonde in black. "That is great news and will make this go so much faster, hopefully before that woman arrives."

Getting somewhat impatient, Naruto tapped his foot and glare up at her as he attempted to tell her to hurry up as he could sense Luciela better then before as she was much closer. While that was a good thing as if whatever these two wanted was unreasonable, he would have an escape plan at the same time it was a bad thing as she was severely pissed at him as his clone's memories told him.

Seeing that her guest was rather impatient, Riful got straight to the point as she really didn't want to deal with Luciela either. "To put it simply, I want you to abandon the woman that is following you and join forces with me. In return, I will grant you protection from her."

"And what is it that I can do that you want me to join forces with you, a dweller of the deep?" Naruto immediately responded as he placed his hands at his side while keeping an eye on his way out, wanting to make sure he could escape if things became ugly.

He suddenly found himself trapped as four black lances pierced the ground around him. He didn't fidget at all as he looked back towards Riful to see her pointing her hand towards him and four of her fingers that morphed into lances extended towards him. "Now don't be trying to escape while we are talking. I haven't finished yet."

Showing no interest in her display, Naruto merely motioned for her to continue with a hand gesture.

Calling back her lances, Riful couldn't help but smile as her eyes glistened. "It is quite simple… I've been noticing that both Luciela and that man in the north have been rather active as of lately since they've collected you and that woman respectively."

"Thanks to you, I know the true strength of that woman and know on my own I cannot defeat her and the only way is to join forces with Luciela. But I rather not and that is where you come in… The strength you unleashed dwarfed not only hers, but the combination of all three of us of power. With that power, you could easily defeat her and not only that, wipe out any threat that opposed you." Riful explained as she looked down at Naruto, attempting to read him.

Despite the lack of facial expressions, she could easily read him like a book and could tell that he still wasn't interested. Getting somewhat frustrated, she looked over at Dauf for a moment and nodded as she looked back at the blonde. "In all, I want you to unleash that power upon anyone that opposes me and in return, I will protect you will you regain your strength and allow you free reign to roam wherever you choose."

"Is that it?" Naruto commented as he looked at the witch with a raised eyebrow. "I've gotten better deals from my friend's insects then that. And what makes you think that I would want to stay on this God forsaken land when it is apparent that I'm trying to leave this place?"

Riful frowned at the blonde as she had thought that she gave him a rather good deal. However, it seemed Naruto wasn't done as he continued on, taking a few steps closer to her as his chakra began to gather around him so that it became visible. "Or is it that you don't want me to leave because something else could rear its ugly head and challenge you and you would want me to take care of it? You're pretty cowardly for a woman with the power you possess as it doesn't seem you can take some competition."

"You are being unreasonable here. I don't have to offer you a thing at all and just extract that beast from your dead body and absorb its powers." Riful countered as she stood up, raising her yoki to back the blonde down.

Naruto didn't back down as he locked eyes with her and raised his voice. "Go ahead and kill me as I am not afraid! The beast will die with me as the moment it was sealed; its life was tied to mine. And if you aren't careful, I'll do the same damn thing to you as I'm not afraid of death! Death is afraid of me!"

As soon as he finished his statement, the foliage behind them was torn to shreds as a large beast jumped onto the beach, growling and hissing loudly in anger as its gaze landed on the blonde. It did not stay there for long as it noticed the young woman standing on the stern of the wrecked boat.

The creature was covered in a light brown fur with a yellowish tent to it covering most of its body. However, the legs and stripes on its fur were reddish-brown. However, all they all quickly realized it was a female as they noticed the creature had pair of breasts.

"Luciela…" Naruto muttered under his breath in shock and awe as he looked at the awakened's true form, not believing what he was seeing.

Two body sized tails swung wildly from her rear as her, double mouthed cat-like face gazed at Riful. Each mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth like that of a shark's without having more then one set. On her back, there was two sets of wings that seemed like that seemed to be more fitting of a dragon then that of a cat.

Multiple spikes stuck out from the bottom of her cheeks to her chin to protect her face and neck, one large spike on both her elbows and a few were located on her legs and hips as well. She also had a two set of spikes, the front set larger then the second set, on top of her head giving notice to her fire like hair.

Her hind legs were very strange as she had three leg segments with two pairs of knees, the first like a regular humans but the next was inverted. The design alone was frightening as the speed that could possibly be generated was almost impossible to comprehend. Her front legs seemed more human like as her hands outside of the extended fingers seemed rather normal.

The more and more he looked at Luciela's transformation, the less Naruto was reminded of the tale of the two tail demon cat and more a powerful dragon that was fused with a speedy and agile cat demon. It was as if the demon for the legend Jiraiya had fused with one of the dragon from the tales kids were told when they were young.

Luciela growled and hissed loudly as she did not like what she saw. She had been set up and by another Abyssal whose goal seemed to take her man from her. She wasn't going to allow this as he eyes landed on Dauf before lashing out towards him and attempted to kill the muscled man.

Her hand never made it as dozens of lances struck her arm as Riful stood up, her entire arm transformed into dozens, if not a hundred, of tendrils, allowing Dauf to escape unharmed as he jumped away from the Abyssal of the South. "Sorry, but I cannot allow you to harm my man even if I am trying to take yours away. …What the hell?!"

She immediately pulled her lances away as they many of them snapped off at the points they stabbed. However, they had not stabbed into her flesh. Instead, at each and every point they had hit there was a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth devouring the flesh of Riful's lances.

Chuckling as she stood erect, Luciela looked down at the older Abyssal as her eyes sparkled dangerously. _**"Oh, sorry… I have a tendency to eat any type of meat…**_ _**No matter how bad it tastes." **_

Gnawing her teeth together, Riful thought on her chances of success and did not like her odds without Dauf being available to provide backup as the blonde would more then likely fight him. There was a good chance she could win, but there was a good chance she could lose and she did not want to lose. She knew she was slightly stronger then her, but she would not act without knowing she could win without a doubt.

But as devious as she was, she came up with yet another idea as she looked to her husband then to the blonde. An evil smirk graced her lips before she gazed into Luciela's eyes. "I have a proposition for you, Luciela of the South."

Not waiting for Luciela to respond, Riful spoke without caring what the dweller of the south thought of it. "You know as well as I do that if the two of us were to fight, it would be a messy finish and with our powers being released to this extant, Easley will no doubt have sensed this and come down to finish off the winner of this fight."

_**"Get on with it!"**_ Luciela hissed as she knew Easley would make his move if they were to battle as she would do the same if Riful was battling him and vice versa.

Riful's smirk increased as she could tell Luciela was thoroughly irritated with the entire situation. "We let our men fight in our stead. If Dauf is to wib, we take your man with us and if the opposite where to happen… You can kill him and I will leave you alone."

"Riful!" Dauf yelled out to his wife in anger, fear and surprise.

"You will do as you are told or I will get myself a new man." Riful ordered as she kept her eyes locked with Luciela's, waiting for her to respond.

She received her answer as her body began to shrink in size and revert into that of a human's. As soon as she reverted back to her human state, exposing her naked state to all, she held her hand out to Naruto. "Give me your cloak and get ready to fight in my place."

Unbuttoning his cloak, Naruto slid it off before handing it to Luciela. Her voice was all that he needed to hear to tell she was extremely upset with him. He had half a mind to take off right now as he didn't want to deal with any of this, but he doubted he could escape with two Abyssals chasing after him, even if he made it to the land of Alfonse in the north.

Luciela immediately slid it on to cover her exposed body and buttoned it back up until she reached the collar and left those buttons undone so she could see. She gave Naruto a dark glare before she took a few steps back and gazed towards Riful. "I'll accept only on the condition that we cannot intervene in anyway, not even to inform them of what they are doing wrong."

"I have no problem with that. Despite his rather thick skull, Dauf can get the job done especially when his manhood is at stake." Riful replied as her lances morphed back into her arm before she sat back down on the railing of the wrecked boat.

Both Dauf and Naruto looked at each other, not really wanting to fight one another too much as they were being forced into this. But at the same time, neither was going to back down as they really had no choice but to comply with the women as both were rather ticked off.

"Alright boys, you can begin now… Dauf, try not to kill him as it would be better if he was alive. If you can't, it isn't too horrible of a lose. Just don't make too much of a mess." Riful announced as she looked over at the two.

Having some confidence due to Riful's words, Dauf smirked as a small amount drool leaked out of the corner of his lips. He didn't even bother to wipe it off as his muscles began to bulge as his yoki began to increase at a rapid rate. His body began to turn a dark green coloration as the same type of rods that riddled the boat began to emerge from the back of his head and elbows.

As he grew in size, Naruto calmly reached into his pouch before pulling out a single scroll and unrolled it. With a drop of his blood, he released the seal and another black cloak with slight cloud alterations appeared in his hands. Putting away the scroll, he slid the cloak on and buttoned it as he looked up to the now transformed Dauf.

"Damn… You are uglier then before. I would hate to see the children you would produce with the old hag over there." Naruto chirped as he looked Dauf in the face with a bright smile before pointing towards Riful.

While Riful restrained herself from lancing the blonde, Dauf twitched at Naruto's comment before he pounded his giant fist into the ground leaving deep impact craters. _**"Don't underestimate me you puny human!" **_

Naruto had to admit, the giant green monstrosity had a point. He was absolutely dwarfed by him now that he had transformed compared to before. And he was possibly underestimating him, but he doubted that he was that much stronger then he looked. And with his transformation, it looked like he had no speed.

However, Naruto got a quick lessen in how fast Dauf was when he brought his fist down to crush the blonde. He was able to dodge, but Naruto was now on red alert. The big green guy's move were fast, well at least his punches were. He still doubted that he was very mobile and could easily run circles around him.

Pulling a single kunai from his pouch, he dashed side to side while approaching Dauf to confuse and disorientate the big fellow. It seemed to work as when his fists came down, he wasn't even on target as he hit a few feet to the side where Naruto was. This left Dauf wide open for a strike as he jumped up before he could recover he drove his kunai into his throat.

Or at least he tried to. As the kunai did was make a loud and annoying scrapping sound and created a few sparks as if his skin was made of metal. Before he could even look surprised, Dauf swatted Naruto off his chest like a fly and sent him into the sandy ground, creating an impact trail behind him.

Groaning in pain as he began to pick himself up, he heard Dauf beginning to laugh as he looked down at the blonde. _**"Is that it?! You'll have to do more then that to harm me… AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" **_

Dauf suddenly screamed in pain as the kunai Naruto was holding lodged into his eye as the blonde stood up. "Well, I'll just have to hit you where your armor can't withstand my attacks. Maybe, you other eye, aiy!"

It seemed the green giant wasn't listening as he groaned and yelled as he covered his face. However, he stopped as he could feel Riful's anger at him and despite the pain he was in, looked toward the blonde before grabbing the kunai out of his eye and crushing the small weapon. _**"That was cheap… I'll kill you for that!" **_

As soon as the last word left his mouth, a giant pole formed in his mouth and shot out towards him. Using his speed, Naruto side stepped it rather easily before he noticed that more of the rods were forming in his finger and they were all aimed towards him. Knowing he wouldn't be able to deflect these, his only option was to dodge.

But they fired out even faster then the one previously and Naruto was not prepared. He skillfully weaved around those he could, but there was just one he could dodge and it slammed into his stomach knocking the air out of him and putting him into the ground. Before he could even pick himself up, another barrage was sent towards him.

However, they hit nothing as Naruto sank into the ground as if he was never there as the rods skewered the ground were he was at.

Bursting from the ground just behind Dauf's feet, Naruto leapt towards the back of the giant's neck with an orb of chakra in the palm of his hand. Landing on the giant's shoulders, Naruto thrusted the orb into his neck. "Eat this you big mother fucker! RASENGAN!"

As the orb hit home, Dauf yelled out in pain and started flailing about as the Rasengan drilled into his armored skin. But as soon as it did, Naruto's face fell as he began to see that even his most prized attack was barely even cutting into the awakened's skin before Dauf suddenly grabbed him with his gigantic hands and pulled him off.

Bringing the blonde in front of him, Dauf began to squeeze in an attempt to crush the annoying pest for causing him such pain. He was still going to try and keep him alive for Riful's sake, but he wouldn't be blamed if he killed the blonde bastard. After all, if his woman couldn't use him she wanted no one else to have him.

Naruto grunted in pain as he slowly brought his hands together. The pressure was like that of Gaara's Sand Coffin and was gradually increasing and he began to feel his bones beginning to creek from the strain. It was now or never and he hoped this would have enough strength to break free.

Smoke exploded with such fore in Dauf's hands that he was forced him to release his hold of the blonde. But now it wasn't just one blonde. It was hundreds of blondes in black surrounding him, all looking very pissed.

_**"WHOA! THERE THOUSANDS OF FLIES NOW!" **_Dauf yelled out as he attempted to count them and failed miserably.

Each and every Naruto face faulted before getting up having more reason to be pissed then before. However, they all knew their purpose as the real Naruto distanced himself from the battle.

The one closest to Luciela turned to her before whispering softly so the big guy couldn't hear him. "Move away from here… There is about to be some real fire power unleashed."

Luciela hardly wanted to move, but she knew that Naruto meant that something big was about to happen and didn't want to be caught up in it. So she naturally jumped out of the circle of clones knowing that being inside of them was know as the ring of death.

Riful, however, heard what the clone had said and did the same herself, getting far enough out of the way so she wouldn't be caught by whatever was about to happened. She had half a mind to tell Dauf to do the same thing, but she really didn't want to fight Luciela and she was interested in what the blonde was about to do.

Each and every clone looked at each other for a moment as they surrounded the armored awakened being, waiting for the right moment to strike. They got it as Dauf tried to bring his fist down into closest clone only for it to dodge and every single clone to jump him. He began to flail to tried and knock them away, but more then enough were clinging onto him but what really confused him was when they started to glow. He hadn't a clue as to why but he knew it was something bad.

And he was very right when every single one exploded in one grand fireball.

It was easily thirty meters high and the same wide as it flames and smoke took the shape of a mushroom as a powerful shockwave was created from the blast and blew any nearby trees down and forcing the three not caught in the blast to hold their ground. The boat had tipped over and what the shockwave did not finish, the fire did. The sand around the blast and within the blast was blown with such force and heat that it molded into glass and scattered across a fifty meter radius.

As the debris, flames and smoke began to clear crater at least ten meters deep was formed and filled with nothing but cracking glass as Dauf knelt on top of it.

Dauf could have been doing better as his entire body was in searing pain, but his armored skin was only scuffed and dinted from the blast. Despite the force of the explosion, his armored skin had not been pierced. However, in every place that was not covered by his armor blood was spewing as deep gashes and burned covered the unarmored skin.

Panting heavily, he stood up tall before he gazed into the direction the single blonde was with his one eye. _**"You… Will pay… For that… I'm going to smash you… Into the ground and then rip you apart limb by limb before I feed on your guts!" **_

Naruto sighed as the big guy just didn't get it. He had won this battle and there was nothing the giant could do about it. But he had to make it clear to him as he began to walk towards Dauf. "You still don't get it, do you big guy? No matter what you do or come up with, I will win this fight as I haven't even begun to show my true strength."

The sand around Naruto slowly rose into the air as his eyes began flashing from blue to gold and his pupil began to take a rectangular shape. Suddenly, his chakra burst around him blowing all the sand nearby him away as his eye stayed gold. His cloak bellowed from the intensity of his chakra release as he stopped on the edge of the crater that his exploding clones create.

All present were blown away by the power that Naruto was releasing as none had suspected he was this powerful on his own.

Even Luciela was taken back as the blonde had never shown this transformation before and despite how much weaker it was then his yoki release, its power clearly put him on both her and Riful's level.

_**"You still can't pierce my armor! So no matter how much more powerful you are then me, I can still win!" **_Dauf countered as he began to regain his courage and confidence once more.

Sighing once more, two clones formed at Naruto's side with him making a motion to form the seals to create them. "Give up now or I will kill you with my next attack. I don't like taking lives even if you are no longer human, but I will not hesitate to kill you if you do not surrender now."

_**"Go to hell!" **_Dauf screamed before he created another poll within his throat and shot it towards the blonde.

It suddenly stopped as Naruto put his left hand in front of it and caught it with almost no effort, shocking Dauf on how easily he stopped it. He however, wasn't finished as he channeled his sage chakra to his left arm and with a single, powerful heave he drove the poll through and into Dauf's stomach.

Watching the awakened scream in pain, Naruto sighed as he placed his hand above his head as he began to focus chakra to his palm, forming an orb. His two clones quickly joined the act as they began to rotate the sphere even quicker while adding his natural element to it.

Wind.

The wind began to take the shape of a shuriken as it spun wildly above Naruto's head before he began to coat the orb and wind with his sage chakra, incasing it in a controllable shell. As he did so, the two clones dispersed leaving nothing but plums of smoke where they use to be.

To the three awakened there, it felt as if the very air around them had stilled as the wind had seized and they found it very hard to breath. The magnitude of the technique was beyond anything they had felt before and for Dauf, he began to regret his decision as he found it very hard to move an inch. He knew this attack could kill him.

Pulling it to the side, Naruto grunted deeply as he threw the chakra shuriken fused with wind towards Dauf.

As he threw it, Riful had suddenly transformed and sent dozens of her tendrils in front of the attack. It didn't matter as each and every single one was sliced as the Rasenshuriken made contact like a buzz saw as the shell released. The wind tore threw Dauf's stomach as he tried to jump to the side, severing his torso from his legs instantly.

Purple blood stained the sand as Dauf began to bleed heavily when he was suddenly wrapped by more tendrils and carried towards the transformed Riful. _**"Sorry… But despite what I said earlier, I had no intention in letting my man die so easily." **_

It seemed that her entire body was nothing but tendrils as they wrapped around and formed a woman shaped body. However, that body without the hundreds, possibly even thousands, of tendrils was twice the size of Dauf easily. With them, it was impossible to compare her size to any living animal as nothing came close.

Luciela growled deeply as she was preparing to transform once more when Riful shook her head at the red headed Abyssal. _**"I have no interest in fighting you as of now as the odds are against me. But we will meet again and next time I will kill you, Luciela of the South. Remember, you are the weakest of the three." **_

As soon as the last syllable left her tongue, she suddenly disappeared into the sky leaving almost no trace that she had been then before. In fact, the only remaining trace that she was ever there was the tendrils the Rasenshuriken had sliced off.

Clenching and unclenching her fist, Luciela's anger rose even more. Turning towards the blonde, she was ready to lay into him when she noticed that he was burning the tendrils. Despite being very pissed at him, she couldn't help but be slightly curious as to what he was doing. "Why exactly are you burning her flesh. What does it mean to us if it is left here?"

"You remember what you told me about how the organization creates warriors." Naruto responded before blowing yet another burst of flames onto the flesh as it slowly burned and turned to ash.

Nodding as she remembered quite well, she waited for him to release his breath of flames to continue. "Of course I do. You asked me as you were curious on how a Claymore and Awakeneds came into being and I told you that the warriors were created when yoma flesh is surgically implanted into a human's body and because of that, the flesh would spread and once their body could no longer take it, they would tranform into an awakened."

Naruto nodded as he coughed some smoke out of his system. "Exactly… Now what if the organization were to get a hold of Riful's flesh and use that instead of garden variety yoma flesh."

Luciela didn't answer as she knew very well what would happen if the organization indeed got a hold of the flesh of an Abyssal. Even if they couldn't create warriors out of it, they would create monsters with the ability to combat them. Grabbing onto a piece that fell into the ocean with one of her tails, her tail formed a mouth and began to feed on the flesh. "God… If there is one, this is horrible. Still, it is food."

Watching the flames burn the tendrils to ashes, Luciela gripped Naruto's shoulder tightly before her other tail wrapped around his neck and she began to squeeze tightly almost crushing his wind pipe. "I'm going to be lenient this time because I like you and I want you for my mate. But if you try to escape from me again, I'll kill you. I don't care if you are as strong as me, I'll murder you if you try that again. I cannot have you falling into her or that man's hands."

Releasing her tail from his throat, Luciela began to walk away before she called back to Naruto without looking back. "Let's go! I want to be home before the day ends!"

Gripping his throat, Naruto panted lightly before he slowly stood up and started to follow her. Even after she had threatened him, he still knew that his best chance to get off this rock was Luciela.

* * *

**A/N2:** Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I was disappointed with the lack of response last chapter, but that won't stop me from continuing on and I believe it was mostly my mistake.

This chapter was kind a combination of, obviously, this chapter and chapter seven. My original structure had Luciela and Riful fighting along with Naruto fighting Dauf, but then I remembered what Riful said to Clare in chapter 71. If Luciela and Riful were to fight, what would keep Easley from arriving and finishing off the survivor of the battle. So I got rid of their battle (many disappointed sighs here) because of that reason.

Anyways, if there are still questions you have or have any problems leave a review and I'll get back to you. I've switched and gone with Dauf and Riful as they apparently is the correct spelling for their names.

Sorry if Luciela's description is a little lacking, but if you want a good picture of what she (and her transformation looks like), go to onemanga and search Claymore. Chapter 62, page 31-32 is the best picture of Luciela human form and chapter 63, page 18-19 is a good (AKA arousing) picture of her transformed from behind and page 21 is a good picture from the front of her transformation.

Anyways, I'll see you all next chapter. Peace out.


	7. Mistakes

**A/N:** A few minor detail changes. Easley will be Isley, Rifl will now be Riful and Duff will be Dauf. I was going by how the anime spelled their names as there is no real consistency with them on onemanga (Clare for instant started out as Clair, then became Claire then finally became Clare). The same is true for the colors of known awakened beings (AKA, Dauf, Rifl, etc…). Anyways, here is the next chapter of A Red Dawn, Mistakes.

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore

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Naruto was very uncomfortable with the way Luciela was looking at him as he got ready to cook himself dinner.

He wouldn't have been too bothered if it was her usual gaze as he had grown used to it. He even had gotten used to her seductive glances at him, but the look she was giving him now making him nervous as only one other person had given him that look before.

The only other person that had given him that look before was Hinata when he told her he didn't feel the same for her as she did to him.

It was the look of heart break and rejection and he was having a very hard time dealing with it.

When he broke Hinata's heart, he hated himself for and even now, he hated what he did to the girl. She got over it and began to see other people but he could not. He loathed his very being for causing someone he cared for tremendous pain; and in response he left his friends to spare them the pain he was going to cause them. He of course had other reasons to leave, but he wanted to spare those he cared further anguish.

Now he had caused to the same type of grief to someone that he had been living with for two years and that deeply cared for him.

On the surface, he didn't really show that he care all too much except for playful banter every now and then and that was his nature. He liked to play around and cause mischief and Luciela didn't mind and was far more receptive to it than most people, especially women he knew.

But it was because of this that he was hurting inside. While he cared for her, maybe not in the same way that she did to him, it caused him further agony to watch someone else suffer because of his actions, especially another woman.

Yet there was another problem, Naruto still believed that he had taken the right course of action the more he thought about it.

If Luciela was to come to his world, her head would be instantly wanted after a few deaths had been linked to her feeding. Despite the fact that they could all be the scum of the earth that she fed on, her actions would be considered heinous. And if she dared to transform, people would consider her a demon and he knew despite the tolerance level of demon vessels was growing, demons were still not well liked and missions would be assigned to kill her.

He could protect her. He knew that very well as he was feared for being the mysterious new leader of the Akatsuki and it was already written in the bingo books to flee him on sight. But he would take heavy criticism from his few members, baring the plant as he probably would devour what was left of the human carcass afterwards. Even then, they would all accept her eventually and even come to like her.

Eventually, he knew the five Kages would assemble a task force like they did against Madara to take care of her and the reformation of the Akatsuki. He knew his skills well, but even against the level of the squad that would be sent against them he doubted they could come out on top.

Naruto knew he was still wrong for leaving, but he was having a crisis of conscious and mind and he was left with no answer of what to do. So he was staying silent with his head hung low like a little child that had just been punished while he try to decide on which route he should take.

Luciela had kept a vigilant eye on him in the past few days after he escaped and almost did not let him out of her sight except when he had to do his business. She know she was going a little overboard, but she did not have the faith and trust in him as she did before and took measures to make sure he knew that she was very disappointed in him.

She revoked most of the privileges she had given him, except the equipment as she could not take that away without Naruto fighting her tooth and nail for it. Also, she had stopped cooking his meals and made him cook his own, which to her ire the blonde seemed to know how to cook well.

The only thing Luciela did not stop was her occasional flirts as, despite how angry she was with him, she still wanted him to fall for her; though she did cut back the number of attempts she flirted with him. That had been her main goal over the past two years and she had noticed he had started to treat her a little differently. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but she was going to continue so she could see.

Looking at Naruto, Luciela was deeply upset that he had yet to even utter a word of apology to her. He was wrong yet he seemed to refuse to admit he was. Part of her was willing to let him drag this out as it seemed that he was trying to find a way to say he was sorry, but couldn't find a good reason. There really wasn't a good reason in her mind, so she could only wait until he could come up with an acceptable one.

But with one look at his depressed face, it was hard for her to stay visibly mad at him. He was just too cute, in her opinion, when he was like this and she didn't want to stay mad at him. She needed something to get him to open up and possibly get him to say something as he had yet to talk since she had brought him back home.

While she watched as he pulled the cut of beef out of one of his food scrolls, Luciela whistled to herself as she tried to refrain from attempting to flirt with him. She really wanted to make a comment and despite her restraint, she couldn't help herself as he opened the oven and was getting ready to put it in. "My you have a lot of meat there sailor. Do you plan on sticking all of that into my junk?"

The look on Naruto's face was priceless as he fumbled the beef and Luciela couldn't help but laugh to herself. She still hadn't forgiven him, but the look on his face was just too much. Even if she was angry with him it didn't mean she couldn't have some fun with him.

Cursing her under his breath, Naruto pulled out a rather large pan and placed the slab of meat onto it. Of course as he did this, he covered up his blush as his eyes wandered to Luciela to see she was still smiling. Frowning at this, he lit the oven before crossing his arms over his chest. "That was very inappropriate for someone that supposed to still be mad at me."

"Well," Luciela began as her eyes flashed silver as she wanted to avoid this conversation as she really didn't want to get started and possibly hurt him, "Maybe you should apologize already for trying to leave me here on my own and then maybe all this will blow over in a couple of days, don't you think?"

Naruto shook his head at her before he moved out of the kitchen and into the living room as he looked her into the eyes. "On the grounds that I broke my words, yes you are right. However, I am not going to apologize as I am right about leaving you behind. I just can't take you to my world…"

Luciela's eyes flashed again as she rose from her chair before she walked in front of him starting to growl loudly. Oh, she did not like what she just heard and she was going to call him out on it as she poked him in the chest. "And what is it that would make me so unfit to be in your damn world, huh?! Tell me!"

He instantly recognized what he had said wrong and mentally cursed at himself for being an idiot before he stepped back and hung his head. He really didn't want to make things worse with one of the few people that could possibly find a passage back home. Keeping his head low, he apologized in a low voice, but high enough for her to hear him. "I'm sorry, Luciela. I didn't mean…"

"The hell you didn't!" Luciela screamed at him as her yoki flared and her face began to physically shift, becoming more feline as her anger grew. "Tell me why I cannot go to your fucking world! What is it that makes it so much different from being here where I have to fear for my life every day because that bitch in the west could team up with that man and kill me in an instant?!"

He really didn't like that he couldn't get Luciela to calm down and was wishing he hadn't said anything in the first place. It seemed no matter what he could try to say, he would be digging himself further into his own grave and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

If he gave her the real reason he didn't want her to come with him, which was not the original reason for leaving her behind, she would be pissed at him. But if he didn't tell her, she would be far more enraged. However, both had a similarity in the fact that he had no clue what Luciela would do, despite getting to know her over the past two years.

As Naruto stayed silent, trying to think of a way to pacify Luciela, she grew even further irritated before she suddenly shoved him away, knocking him off balance and shoving him onto the floor. "Fine! Don't answer me then! Get the fuck out my house you ungrateful bastard!"

Naruto knew that Luciela was angry and despite her words, he knew if he did as she said she would be even further pissed. So gathering his bearings, he attempted to pick himself off the ground when one of her tails wildly swung at him as she turned for the door. He managed to duck underneath it as it ripped through the oven and cabinets.

As he looked at her in shock, Luciela reached the door as her entire body trembled in rage. She had never been this pissed and it felt like she was about to transform at any moment. She had to get out of there before she tore her home to shreds. Turning back to Naruto, her eyes glistened with a beast like silver as she yanked the door open. "When I get back, you better be fucking gone or I will eat your guts and savor every minute of it."

With those last words, she slammed the door shut leaving Naruto alone in the house.

Sitting up, Naruto hang his head as a lone tear fell from his left eye before he slowly stood up and walked to the door. He stopped only or a moment before opening it, letting his single tear hit the knob before he left the house muttering a single line over and over.

"I'm sorry…"

* * *

"What happened here?" Irene muttered to herself as she looked at a glass filled crater that rats and seagulls were flocking to as they picked at the blood that soaked the sand and glass, trying to get some nutrients from it.

Teresa said nothing as she knelt down next to the crater picked up a small piece of glass and examined it for a moment. From what she could tell, it had just recently been made as it was still quite hot. There was a good amount of yoma blood on it as well, despite the amount the animals devouring it and in spite of how awful it must have tasted.

Putting it down, she looked over to Clare who seemed to be poking at something in the ocean before the young girl called out to her. "Teresa! I think I found something!"

Standing up, she headed towards the girl to see what she had found. At first it just seemed to be some burnt timber from the remains of what looked to be a boat. But after a moment, she quickly noticed a long rod of some kind stuck into it and what made this odder was that the rod had its own yoki flow.

Frowning at this, she grabbed the pole before pulling it out of the useless timber, finally sniffing it. She wanted to hurl as the stench was foul, even if it had been washing in the salt water for a while, but she kept it in as it was the same scent of the blood.

Sticking it into the ground, Teresa sighed before she patted Clare on the head and smile. "Thank you Clare. You can play for a while as Irene and I have to talk for a little while. Just make sure you don't go too far off and stay away from those poles, okay?"

"Okay!" Clare chirped back before she took off Naruto's cape and her boots, laying them on the dry sand before she began running in the shallow water.

Smiling as she watched her for a moment, Teresa shook her head before turning to Irene and her face instantly dropped and became serious. "There is no doubt about it. Both the Abyssal of the South and West were here and something big happened."

Irene nodded in agreement as she scanned over the area. There was no doubt in her mind something happened here. But from what she was seeing, she didn't believe it was the two Abyssals that had fought. "That much I agree on… But from everything I can see here, I cannot believe that they fought each other as there just isn't enough damage. Sure, there is that destructive trail from the southern lands, but it looks more like Luciela was chasing something…"

"And that something would happen to be the person we are looking for." Teresa interrupted as she had already figured out as much.

Frowning at Teresa, Irene crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to figure out why Teresa was so confident that he was here. "There is no proof that he was here Teresa. All we have to go on is that Luciela captured him and all we know she may have devoured his guts. I seriously doubt she would as there had to be a purpose for her to come after him, but it is highly probable that he served his purpose and she devoured him."

Teresa simply shook her head as she gave a quick gesture to the glass crater. "That is all the proof we need. Explosions are not something that you see often and Naruto seems to be a master of using them as you know firsthand."

Seeing Irene flinch as she apparently remembered his exploding kunai, Teresa looked over to make sure Clare was alright before continuing with her reasoning. "Furthermore, this crater dwarfs any explosion that can be made from our land's limited knowledge of the subject. However, from what I learned his land is much further along than ours and it is more than possible that they know more on the subject and could create a more powerful bomb."

"Okay," Irene commented as she wasn't entirely convinced, "But how do we know that he didn't inform Luciela of this as well and she used what she knows now against the witch of the West?"

Tilting her head for a moment as she puzzled Irene's question, Teresa took a few moments before coming up with an answer. "Ah, but as you said there isn't enough damage to say they fought. And remember this, if two Abyssals fought what is keeping the third from coming and finishing off the winner?"

Catching onto Teresa's reasoning, Irene nodded as she dropped her hands to her hips. "Nothing… The man of the north would come down and kill the winner and would become the only Abyssal. So, the two couldn't have fought but were still having a disagreement so they had to do something… So they had others fight for them instead."

"Exactly," Teresa responded as smirked at her. "So it is more than likely that she had Naruto fight in her stead while Riful used whomever she brought with her at the time. And seeing that I don't see any traces of human blood, it is more than likely Naruto won against a powerful foe, one that would possibly give us some slight trouble."

Irene nodded as the damage was quite grand despite being nothing to what the Abyssals could do when they were battling one another. However, there was still one thing that was bothering her and she had to ask it as she gazed at the former number one. "So what is our plan as it is obvious he still is with Luciela?"

Thinking only for a moment, Teresa stretched and popped her shoulders before responding to Irene's question. "It is simple. We will leave Clare in a town near where we find Luciela so she won't be in danger. Many people owe me favors down here so it shouldn't be that hard and once she is in safe hands, we'll confront the Abyssal and if she is a generous mood, we might end up joining her and if not… We take her out."

The little amount of color in Irene's skin faded away as Teresa said this, but after a few moments, she nodded. She knew that the two together now could more than likely take an Abyssal and win. Hell, from what she felt Teresa was quite possibly stronger then Luciela now but she wouldn't put it past the Abyssal to be cloaking some of its power. The odds were in their favor and if the young man came to their aid, they would win.

As Irene slowly nodded in agreement with the plan, Teresa turned to Clare to see her sitting on the shore while kicking her feet in the water. Smiling at the young girl, she shook her head before calling out to her. "Clare, Put your stuff back on! It's time to go!"

Clare groaned as she was having fun, but did as Teresa said as she slid her boots on before clicking on the cape and running towards Teresa. She wanted to play more, but she knew something was going on and didn't want to slow down her mother figure down. Besides, she knew after this was done that she would get more time to do more fun activities. "Okay Teresa! I'm ready."

Shaking her head at the young girl, Irene pulled out a small fruit before tossing it to Clare. "Eat it first. We're going to be moving quicker than normal so you're going to need your energy to keep up as we can't afford you to fall behind."

Watching Clare nod and bite down into the fruit, Teresa shook her head as she originally planned on carrying Clare as it would have been faster. But Irene did make a good point during their time training together. Clare needed to become depend enough on her own that she didn't need them to look over her all the time.

But she wasn't worried about it too much right now as she was only eleven. And the girl could follow no matter how harsh the path or pace was.

Smiling at her, Teresa took the lead as she began to head towards the southern lands.

* * *

"Why does it seem that I hurt those that care for me the most?" Naruto asked himself as he walked through a forest, ignoring the dampness of his cloak as the water droplets from the mist clang to him.

It had been a day and a half since Luciela lost her temper and ordered him out and he had been walking non-stop ever since, blaming himself for the entire thing. He knew he was wrong and he could admit that he was. But when the time came for it, he held onto his selfish pride and screwed up a chance to get home.

Sighing to himself as he hung his head, he walked not caring what was in front of him. Miraculously, he seemed to know where the trees were by instinct and walked around them without bumping into one or tripping over a single brush or root.

Naruto couldn't find an answer to why no matter how hard he tried. He just hurt those who he cared for the most.

Hinata,

Gaara,

Jiraiya,

Kakashi,

Sakura,

Sai,

Shizune,

Tsunade,

Yamato,

Sasuke,

Every person in Konoha.

He had hurt them all. And now he had to add Luciela to the list.

No matter how hard he tried, he hurt them. Whether it was ignoring their feelings, doing something irreversible or just making a bad judgment, he hurt them more times than he could count. And he kept doing it despite how hard he tried not to.

Sighing to himself, Naruto stopped and looked at his surroundings and noticed the trees were beginning to thin out while the soil turned from dirt to sand, transitioning to that of a desert. He knew he was within the center state of the continent known as Toulouse to the citizens. Technically from the way Luciela and he guessed the other Abyssals saw it, he was still within the southern lands.

Naruto knew to keep from the west as he did not want to deal with Riful any time soon but if he kept in the south, there was always a chance Luciela would come back for him. However, after how he angered her he doubted it would be for a friendly conversation.

So his choices were to head east and towards the organization that he had heard so many bad things about, or head to the northern lands and possibly deal with another Abyssal. He didn't like either choice, but he had to pick one as he doubted he could live in the south any longer and the west was just off limits.

**"If you had taken her up on her offers you could have avoided all of this you stupid ningen. But you never, ever listen to me."** Kyuubi commented within Naruto's mind with a toothy grin.

"I'm not in the mood fox." Naruto responded as he began to head towards the closest town he knew of, to rest for a moment.

Kyuubi, however, was being persistent as he attempted to enrage Naruto further. **"Well too bad! Despite what you think, as long as I am in here I need you to be healthy and mentally stable. I don't have to worry about the first as my yoki takes care of the problem, but if you don't start dealing with all the shit you cause I am personally going to take over your body and fuck any chance you have to fix all your problems!"**

"Shut it Kyu or I will kill us both right now!" Naruto angrily hissed back at the fox demon as his chakra flow began to double.

After a full minute and not hearing anything from Kyuubi, Naruto changed his direction and began to head north. While he knew he would have fewer chances to find a way back to his home within the north, he didn't want anything to do with the organization.

He stopped every few moments and looked back, hoping that someone would appear either it be Luciela, Teresa or one of his subordinates from the Akatsuki. But he saw no one and stopped looking back as he began to ready his body for the extreme cold of the northern lands of Alfonse.

* * *

Standing on top of the mountain that she first took Naruto to as the sun began to set, Luciela sighed as she dragged her hand across her face.

Even if she knew she had a right to be angry, she did not mean to be so harsh to the blonde. She certainly didn't want him to leave as she liked him there as he gave her some company. But after what she had screamed at him it was going to be difficult to repair the rift that was created.

However, she was willing to do so if he was willing to admit that he was wrong. He was still a fine specimen, despite his many flaws, and had a caring heart even if it seemed he closed it off to the world at times. And he was someone that she could spend her life with.

At first, she admitted, she was attracted to him because of the power he revealed. There was no doubt of that in her mind as the power was intoxicating and so overwhelming that it was hard to resist.

But over time, she realized that despite his use of the power, the beast that it originated from was what caused the blonde most of his pain in life. Because of that, Naruto gained his own strength and will to prove that he was entirely different being than the demon fox he cursed so much. And after seeing his conviction as he trained, she began to admire him and care less and less about the power of the demon within him.

Luciela would admit that the power was still nice to have in emergencies as even Naruto said that much, but she began to detest the creature within him as well. While she knew she wasn't too different from the creature within him, she at least still considered herself closer to human. She still loved her younger sister, she missed her parents and she, at times, felt regret as she ate the innards of humans.

Sighing to herself, she released a small portion of her yoki and let it flow around her for a moment. She looked at it before closing her eyes as she knew there was no way to reverse what she was now. She was a demon and, despite how she acted at times, she was never going to be human again.

Instantaneously, Luciela was in front of the house. She noted that it was oddly dark and there was no visible light. While this bugged her, she knew that Naruto really didn't need the light of the fire place to see. He had many odd contraptions that produced light with what he called batteries.

Slowly opening the door, she entered the house to see that there was nothing. In fact, all the materials she broke were still broken. She reminded herself to fix them later as she was more worried about where Naruto was. She couldn't sense him; however, if he was meditating she knew she wouldn't be able to.

Throwing a few logs into the fireplace, she sparked a fire with the matches Naruto had given her. Smiling as she could see a little better, she walked to the bedroom door before gently raping on it. "Naruto, are you in there?"

Not getting an answer, Luciela frowned as some of the residual anger from the other night still remained began to peak and she nearly ripped the door open as she opened it. But it instantly vanished as she saw there was no one in the room.

Panic began to coarse through her veins as she went straight to the bathroom to see he wasn't there either. Her entire body began to tremble as she couldn't find him anywhere as she tore through the house. She was hoping this was a joke on his behalf, but all she could find was his scent that seemed to be fading by the second.

Falling to her knees in front of the fire, tears began to streak from her eyes as she realized what happened. He had done what she said and left.

"No… This isn't what I wanted." Luciela mumbled to herself in a grief-stricken voice as she placed her palms on her temples.

The last thing she wanted was for Naruto to leave. She wanted him at her side to keep anyone from trying to make a move against her and taking over her lands while she reigned over them.

Every day after he arrived had been rather fun and she didn't want to lose that. He had been, on occasion, rather kind and despite how much either had been drinking, as she still had a taste for alcohol, he would never take advantage of her as she could now get drunk, which was odd as she couldn't get drunk when she was a so called Claymore.

But now that he left, it seemed that all of the joy she had felt before faded away. It was as if she had never been happy before she met him. It was an odd feeling as she knew that not to be true, but that was how it felt. Why she felt this way confused her as it was a human emotion to feel happiness or sadness? Was it possible that she was learning how to become human again while the blonde stayed with her?

As her tears began to drip onto the floor, Luciela curled into herself as her body shook more. All these things she was feeling now were because Naruto had been staying with her. While these were things she didn't care for in the least, now she felt them once more and with his leaving, all that she was left with was pain. She couldn't stand it and felt like she wanted to die.

She had to get him back. At least that way, she wouldn't be in the pain she was in. And hopefully they both could forget the pain they had caused each other.

Pulling herself out of the fetal position, her yoki exploded around. She knew he had a few days head start and she would have to move as fast as she could to catch up.

Her entire visage began to morph as the dress she wore began to shred and rip into dozens of pieces while her skin began to be covered by a delicate fur. Her tails were the first to sprout from her tail bone as she had the most use for them. They were quickly followed by her wings as her face began to take the features of a dragon and feline once more. Then finally, her entire body began to increase in size.

The wooden house resisted for a moment before it was torn asunder as Luciela fully transformed. She didn't care as she had plenty of other homes and she could replace mostly everything in her house.

There, however, was one thing she couldn't repair if she didn't act quickly as she sniffed the wreckage for his scent. And that was the relationship she had with Naruto.

Now all she had to do was hope he didn't cross the border before she could get to him.

* * *

On a small mountain in the southern lands, Teresa gently laid Clare down as Irene started the fire. Unbuttoning the cloak, she laid it softly over the young girl as she removed the girl's pack and lifting her head up before tenderly laying it back down onto it.

Smiling at her, she turned to Irene as the elf-like woman was placing some brush on the fire to keep it kick start it. Watching the fire beginning to burn strongly, Teresa sat down before pulling her cloak off and laying it next to her. "We've made some good time, but we might not be able to leave early."

Irene nodded as she pulled her cloak off as well before looking over at the young girl. "I am surprised that she was able to keep such a pace. It is abnormal to have such stamina… I'm kind of grateful you picked her up as she would not be someone I would want to see picked up by the organization. She could end up aiming for number one with that kind of determination…"

"I know… She has potential, but I don't want it to become like ours." Teresa replied as she turned from the young girl and gazed at the stars, her eyes glittering from the night's light. "I want her to learn how to use her own natural energy, as he can. …It is more of that reason I'm so persistent about getting him back."

Hearing this, everything began to click for Irene as she looked at Teresa. Crossing her arms, she gazed into the fire before she spoke in a light tone. "I see… You want her to be able to defend herself… But our training is insufficient as it depends on yoki, not the human's own natural energy. If we were to have him, he could train her to be self reliant and maybe even train her to be strong enough to defend herself from mild threats."

"Not just mild," Teresa responded once more as she took off her holster and let it hit the ground behind her, "I want her strong enough in the case that she loses me that she cannot blame it on her weakness. …I know that she thinks it was due to her weakness that Naruto was caught in the first place even if we both know that not to be the case."

Nodding as she got as much from Clare herself, Irene was ready to loosen her holster when she noticed Teresa jump up and quickly grab her claymore. Not being able to sense anything right away, Irene was about to ask what was wrong when she felt it. The blood drained from her face as she knew all too well what was heading towards them. While Teresa was better at sensing it, there was no doubt how powerful this one was. This was who they were looking for but they weren't planning for her to come and welcome them.

Bird's filled the sky as they abandoned their nests as the being came closer and closer, not caring about their hatchlings as nothing could stop what was coming. All animals from rabbits to bears ran by the camp, not fearing Irene or Teresa as what was coming was far more frightening than either of them.

Clare jumped up as the ground began to shake as what was coming there direction was almost upon them. Fear filled her heart as she saw both Irene and Teresa with their blades drawn, ready for combat. She didn't know what it was, but she knew something was coming as all kinds of animals that she knew would never be in the same area without hunting the other were running side by side, fearing whatever it was that her two caretakers were sensing.

That was when a large creature that she couldn't identify burst through the trees and through the camp as if they weren't even there. However, it stopped for a moment to look back as if it was searching for something but did not find what it was looking for before trying to leave.

Teresa did not give the demon the chance as she slammed her claymore into the ground where her neck used to be. Cursing as she hadn't expected her to be so fast, Teresa pulled her blade out of the ground before she gazed upon the Abyssal one of the South. "I don't know what you are doing here demon of the south, but I can bet it isn't good. Now where is Naruto?"

Luciela snarled at Teresa and looked behind her to see the other warrior had blocked her retreat. She did not feel like fighting as she was following the trail that Naruto had traveled and didn't want to waste any energy so she could catch up to him as he had made tremendous time despite it only being the end of the second day she told him to get out.

However, she saw no way out of this and the warrior in front of her was brimming with so much yoki that even she wasn't sure that she could easily win. Growling out as her two tails flailed madly, Luciela hissed at the stronger of the two warriors. _**"I do not know as you are in my way. He came this way not too long ago and I'm trying to catch him, now get out of my way so I can catch him!"**_

At first, Teresa frowned but a smirk slowly crossed her lips. This was a good thing. If Naruto had left her, she could get to him easily and wouldn't have to deal with the Abyssal of the South. But, it seemed that her aim was to recover him so she was at an impasse. However, she knew that the longer Luciela held up her transformation, the more likely she would have to rest after she fed as transforming tired out an awakened one faster than staying in their human form.

Placing her sword in front of her, Teresa slashed the ground faster than the human eye could see and created a line in front of her. "Well, my goal is for him to travel with us once more and if he wants away from you, I'll give him time to head further up north and get closer to Isley so you can't touch him."

Luciela roared loudly and without hesitation jumped towards Teresa with her hands extended, ready to swipe at her.

Teresa only smirked as she fully released the yoki within her arm and swung towards the leaping Abyssal.

Debris filled the air and covered the area as claw and claymore clashed and two former number ones clashed.

* * *

**A/N2:** Rather short, especially compared to last chapter, and yet another cliff hanger. I did not want to do the fight this chapter as it wasn't planned and if I did, it would shorten the next chapter drastically. So you will have to wait for the next update for the fight and much more.

If it seems a little forced in the beginning, it was because I was having a very, very hard time with that part for personal reasons which I will not go into further detail. So, please if it is a little choppy, don't complain about it too much. I still did my best on it.

I want everyone to know after I finish this arc, which won't be for a few more chapters, I'm going to take a break and rest a little so I don't wear myself out. It won't be long, but it will probably be at least a week rest as I've been writing with most of my time and it is a little stressful at times (AKA the first scene of the chapter).

Anyways, if you spot anything that I or my beta (Final Sleeper) missed or if you have any questions about this chapter or the previous ones, leave a review and I'll get back to you ASAP. And if it deals with my grammar, you can point it out, but don't expect it to improve drastically. That takes time and lots of it and it will be a while before it improves like the rest of my writing has in these past two years since I joined this site.

So for now, I'll see you all next chapter. Peace out.


	8. Battle of Monsters

**A/N:** Sorry for the later then planned update, but I was under the weather and really couldn't look at a computer screen without getting sicker. Plus I got side tracked and... Yeah. And to make matters worse, my flash drive is ready to break and I'm not sure how many more times I can use it. So updates might happen in bunches now. Anyways, enough about me as you are more interested in the story, so here is the next chapter of a Red Dawn, Battle of Monsters.

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore

* * *

Sneezing lightly, Naruto sighed to himself as he looked around him as he stood at the base of a snow covered mountain.

He could see nothing but a few barren trees that were not covered by blanket of snow that filled the entire area. Each and every mountain was covered from tip to the base and even some small trees were buried underneath the falling snow. A few caves he had passed by were almost completely filled with the white powder.

Even in the land of Snow, Naruto had never seen so much snow fall but despite that he continued forward.

"Damn... I didn't expect to be welcomed by a blizzard." Naruto mumbled to himself as he looked around, trying to find a safe resting place so he could rest and wait out the storm.

At first, he found nothing as the snow hid everything but with his trained eyes he spotted a small entrance in the cliff side. With a few hand seals, he blew a stream of flames that melted the snow away and revealed the entrance of a rather cozy cave.

Silently stepping in, Naruto went through a quick check to make sure the cave wasn't a den for a hibernating bear. Once he confirmed that nothing was hiding in the cave, he pulled out and unraveled a small scroll and with a minute flow of chakra a few logs popped out and fell to the ground.

Gathering what little remaining firewood he had left, he set it ablaze before creating a few clones to gather more so he wouldn't freeze to death. Despite regulating his temperature with his chakra, it was still below freezing outside and his cloak wasn't doing too much to keep him as warm as he would like.

Seating himself besides the fire, Naruto closed his eyes and began regulating his chakra flow. He knew he had to keep track to what was around him so he wouldn't be surprised if a yoma or, god help him, an awakened came looking for him for food. Letting his chakra flow slower, he began to lightly pulse his chakra to see what was around him.

As he did such, his mind became more in-tune with what was around him. He almost lost control of his focus as he suddenly felt two enormous sources of yoki, one being much higher then the other. He instantly knew one was Isley of the North as his yoki flow was on par if not just slightly higher then Luciela's.

Naruto flinched as he thought about her and lost focus of his pulse. He honestly was feeling worse about his actions by the moment despite having his reasons for them. But what could he do now as he was kicked out of the south and the west was out of the question as the witch had some sort of plan for him?

Sighing out loud, Naruto slowly began to regain his focus when he noted something peculiar about the two yoki sources he felt. Isley was the weaker of the two.

Now despite how little he actually knew of this world, he did know that the Abyssals were supposedly the strongest warriors to ever awaken and no one outside of another Abyssal could challenge them. But this one... dwarfed Isley by a long shot. The power and amount of yoki was staggering yet it was familiar to him. He couldn't place where he felt it before, but he knew he had.

Frowning as he scratched his head, Naruto was getting annoyed that he couldn't place where he had felt the yoki source before he was suddenly overtaken by two great yoki surges.

He quickly jumped up and accidentally kicked the fire out as he could not mistake who the yoki surges belonged to. The first and greater of the two made him shiver as he knew it instantly to be Teresa as the potency of her yoki was unmistakable. However, it only took fraction of a second later for him to recognize the second surge.

It was Luciela's.

Naruto went into shock immediately as he realized what had to be happening. He didn't understand was why the two were fighting, but he was going to find out.

Could it have been that Teresa was searching for him after Luciela had kidnapped him? It was possible, but he didn't understand as Clare meant everything to Teresa and coming after him would put the girl in danger unlike anything they had been in before.

It was also possible that Luciela was coming after him and had ran into Teresa along the way and Teresa was protecting Clare from Luciela. It was also highly probable that it was just a chance happening and Luciela considered Teresa a threat.

But another prospect had crossed his mind and he wouldn't have considered if it wasn't for running into Riful and Dauf. It was possible, no matter how unlikely, that his senses were being thrown off by Isley and the others yoki.

However, Naruto quickly threw that idea out as he just couldn't sense them with the polls around as they were interfering with his senses. He could sense both Luciela and Teresa and he knew they were fighting.

Dispelling the clones he had sent out, Naruto quickly exited the cave as he attempted to locate the exact position where the two were fighting. While he was unsure what would happen or who he would end up siding with, he knew he had to be there.

Getting a local, Naruto flowed chakra through his legs and was ready to take off when something caught his eyes.

In an instant, he jumped back as the snow where he stood only moments ago burst from the ground as something powerful made contact. Skidding across the snow, Naruto planted his hand into the ground to stop as he looked towards what had just tried to attack him.

However, what he heard first was a deep, dark voice emanated from the cloud of snow covering the person. "_**Impressive. It isn't too often someone can dodge my attack, especially when it's a human. Perhaps you can give me somewhat of a challenge before I devour your innards.**_"

Narrowing his eyes as he heard this, Naruto stood straight as he gazed into the snow, knowing what he would see soon enough. Preparing himself for battle, blue eyes gazed into beast-like silver.

* * *

As the dust settled, Teresa's claymore was firmly stuck into Luciela's hand.

That was what it seemed to be at first glance but Teresa instantly pulled her blade back as she noticed that it was caught in what seemed to be a mouth of jagged teeth. Frowning at this, she placed her claymore in front of her before allowing Irene to get in behind Luciela so he could not retreat and put Clare in danger.

Irene wasn't sure what she could as she got behind Luciela. Hell, she wasn't sure how she could even deter the Abyssal as much as she hated to admit it; she was nothing in the Awakened's eyes. Teresa on the other... Teresa was another Abyssal.

There was no doubting that was what Luciela saw her as. She could tell from the way her fur stood up to the hissing from the hissing reverberating that the Abyssal saw Teresa as a threat that could put an end to her reign.

It was that reason that she could be of any help. Even if she could be nothing more then a decoy to gain Luciela's attention, it would take her attention off Teresa and that could be a fatal mistake. While she hated the roll she would play, it would be the deciding factor in the fight.

Luciela flicked her tails madly as she yowled loudly at the Claymore standing before her before suddenly lunging out towards confident blonde. "_**Out of my way! I do not have the time to deal with you Claymores!**_"

Teresa held fast as she concentrated all her yoki into her arm once more and with a single slash that was unseeable to the eye had blocked Luciela's attack. "Not a chance. We're after the same thing after all."

Yowling louder then before as her claw around the blade began to form a mouth once more, the finger suddenly shot out like lances. Teresa hadn't expected this, but with another quick slash, she blocked the lances before jumping back as Luciela attempted to bite into her.

Irene quickly jumped from behind; trying to land a devastating blow from behind, but with a simple flick of her tails Luciela knocked the elvin Claymore back as if she was nothing more then a fly.

Gritting her teeth as she saw Irene knocked back, Teresa quickly changed her tactic. Irene meant nothing to the Abyssal meaning she would be on her own for the most part with Irene maybe causing enough of a distraction to give her a slight advantage. However, with Clare in the crossfire she needed some to help get her out if need be.

"Irene! Stay back! There is nothing you can do! Just protect Clare!" Not even waiting for Irene to respond, she immediately went on the attack.

Using her speed, she quickly made a charge before jumping over Luciela's slash and landed on the back of the Abyssal's neck. With a powerful swing, she brought her claymore to the Abyssal's head.

The only thing was, another mouth formed and easily caught her blade while Luciela only smirked. "_**It's going to take more then that sword to defeat me, Claymore. I'm completely different from those regular Awakeneds you fight.**_"

Just as she was about to jump from Luciela's back, the flesh underneath her feet morphed into a mouth itself causing Teresa to sudden fall in and loosen the grip of her claymore. The formed mouth with many jagged teeth suddenly clamp shut and started to chew as the other mouth spit the claymore to the ground, unable to even put a dent in it.

Irene looked on in shock at what she had seen, not believing Teresa to have gone down so easily against the Abyssal. "No... It can't be. Teresa was defeat?"

Just as those words left her mouth, an unbelievable surge of yoki caught her attention along with every single being in the area. The amount being release was so unbelievable that even Clare could sense it as clear as day as the mouth suddenly began to be pried open.

Teresa grunted as she summoned more yoki then she had ever used before as she forced open the mouth. Gashes covered her body were the teeth pierced her body and had chewed on her flesh but they weren't stopping her. In fact they were healing at an accelerated rate leaving nothing but scars were the gashes use to be.

With one last grunt, Teresa jumped out of the mouth before landing in front of Luciela, panting heavily. Looking to see where her claymore was, she cursed as she noticed that the Abyssal purposely stepped on it to keep her from claiming it and possibly changing the tide of the battle.

"_**Impressive. Might I ask you to join me young warrior. It would be a shame to let someone of your caliber fall into others hands or be ended by the organization.**_" Luciela stated as she was beginning to like this woman more and more by the second. While she wasn't like Naruto, she would be a good to have at her side to.

Teresa spat blood in response before wiping her lip. "I wouldn't join a monster like you. I defend humans from yoma like yourself."

Luciela only growled in response as her legs tensed and were ready to spring, not liking her response. "_**Then you shall die here. I can't have another around that threatens the balance!**_"

In a blur of motion, Luciela struck and brought her claw into Teresa. However, the former number one managed to catch it with nothing but her hands.

Grunting as she kept from being crushed underneath the pressure, Teresa was ready to jump back when she noticed Irene throw her claymore towards her while she rushed to pick up hers.

A small grin crossed her face before she suddenly released her grip on Luciela's claw and jumped back, receiving two deep gashes in her chest down to her stomach. She paid no heed to them as she suddenly caught the claymore Irene threw towards her. With another burst of yoki to her right arm, she slashed into Luciela's neck before the Abyssal could even form a mouth to stop the attack.

Blood poured down onto Teresa as Luciela hissed loudly as she stumbled back and gripped her throat before glaring at the Claymore in front of her. The wound quickly healed, but it was too close for comfort. She needed to end this fight now before she sustained any critical damage.

Suddenly, she noticed the other Claymore throwing another sword to the dangerous one. She growled deeply in her throat as the one before her now had to swords she would have to worry about. But seeing enough of her quick slash, she understood its principles. "_**It doesn't matter how many swords you wield. The more yoki you use, the closer you will become to awakening.**_"

"_**And when that happens, you'll be mine.**_"

* * *

Naruto rolled out of the way of the next strike. The damn awakened was faster then he believed and he was far more agile then his shape and size suggested. In fact, the only thing he had predicted correctly was his strength.

His cloak was tattered and ruined, no longer even being able to cling to his body as it fell to the ground. Sighing as that was his favored cloak; Naruto knew he was going to have to bring out his top game to win this fight.

He almost forgot about the fight he sensed in the south, but he didn't want to hasten the fight before him as he knew one mistake could be fatal and he had seriously underestimated his opponent's strength.

"Mah. You destroyed my favorite cloak. I just can't have nice things, can I?" Naruto mopped as he looked down at his ruined cloak. In truth, he was remaining as still as he could as he could concentrate on gathering the natural energy around him.

He would like to have transformed as he did against Dauf, but unfortunately he hadn't recharged the seal he designed for storing natural energy as using his shadow clones constantly was rather taxing on him.

Despite being extremely angered by Naruto's childish taunt, the awakened knew better then to fall for it. He could see the muscles tightening and ready to spring in the blonde's body as he was ready to strike back.

He had been the only one attacking up to this point and till this point, he knew something was off. Despite tearing the cloak to shreds, he hadn't landed a single scratch on him. The blonde's speed was amazing and his reaction time was top notch. If he didn't know any better, he would think that this was Isley he was fighting.

That, however, wasn't possible as he knew what the man of the north looked like as he was the commander of his growing army. This _human _was something else entirely. It was like he had the power of an awakened mixed with the lithe and speedy body of a Claymore.

Still, this was the most adrenaline he felt flowing his system ever since he challenged Isley. This human was worthy, in his mind, to continue on living. This one could give him a challenge.

"_**What is your name, human? I would like to know before we continue with our battle. My name is Rigaldo.**_" The lion Awakened stated with a slight growl that was most likely due to his lion like appearance.

Knowing that he had somehow gained the respect of the Awakened before him, Naruto stood up straight before popping his shoulders. "Uzumaki Naruto of the Neo Akatsuki."

Rigaldo only smirked as he crouched down into a stance, ready to pouch this Naruto. "_**I will remember the name then. You shall be known as the only human worthy to stand against Awakeneds!**_"

"Well that's fine, but shall we stop this playing around. I have somewhere to be and you're in my way. So either step out of my way or release your full power." Naruto stated as he felt he was nearly ready to make the transition.

The Silver-Eyed Lion King only smirked at Naruto before he began to laugh. "_**Glad you can see I was holding back as well... This will be fun!**_"

And at his final words, red yoki swirled violently around him, expanding greatly as Naruto watched on, hoping that he would have enough time to unleash his sage form.

* * *

Luciela was having a hard time keeping up with Teresa. While she knew that time favored her as the longer the Claymore fought, the more likely she would have to retreat in fear of awakening and that would be her prime opportunity to strike.

But to imagine that there was another of such power was unbelievable. She was getting unnerved that the longer the fight lasted, the actual chances of her awakening was a bad thing as if she awoke, she wasn't sure she would be able to kill her during any longer. She had to end this fight now.

The problem was that the speed of Teresa was keeping her on the defensive. Never had she faced such speed before and she was having a difficult time predicting her next strike. While she was able to avoid anything that would debilitate her chances of walking away with this fight.

However, it seemed like that she was going to have to take such a wound to be able to win this fight. She didn't like the risk, but it seemed to be the only way she could take control of this fight.

Yowling loudly, she began to flow all of her yoki to her limbs. She would no longer worry about defending her body except for her critical spots.

Faster then Teresa could react, Luciela sliced into the flesh of her stomach before she was able to deflected the strike to her throat, a slash that was obvious meant to end the fight quickly.

Jumping back, she quickly landed before dashing around the Abyssal to find an opening to strike. She instantly realized something was wrong as Luciela was no longer defending herself as she was. The reason was obvious as her fingers suddenly became lances and shot out towards her.

Being able to successfully deflect them, Teresa quickly jumped towards Luciela, dodging and deflecting all the lances sent her way. As she got in close, she unleashed yet another quick sword into her abdomen. To her surprise, it landed with ease and tore through but as it did, she was suddenly struck with multiple lances as Luciela followed with a slash to cut her in half.

Reacting quickly, Teresa freed herself from the lances before jumping back and barely avoiding the slash. Driving her other claymore forward, she stuck it into Luciela's chest only to be knocked back and into the camp by a wildly flailing tail.

Pulling out the claymore out of her chest, she threw it away before remembering there was another Claymore around and the last thing she needed was her to get involved. Spotting Irene, she noticed that there was a young girl next to her, who the elvin woman seemed to be shielding from the battle.

Not wanting to take a chance in losing after the fight was over, Luciela struck out towards Irene, her claw reaching them before Teresa could even get back onto her feet.

But suddenly a light green aura appeared as soon as she neared the girl and the elvin claymore. Her claw withered for a moment before it suddenly went straight through, the aura suddenly dissipating as if it had been over powered.

Her claw, however, found itself suddenly sliced off as Teresa put herself in-between Clare and Luciela.

Panting heavily, knowing that continuing this fight was foolish. Luciela was nearly finished and she was feeling like she would awaken any second. She knew she had barely enough room for one more attack before she had to start repressing the urge to awaken.

Drawing a deep breath, Teresa spoke in a slow and calm tone as Luciela yowled and hissed in pain, unable to hear what Teresa was saying. "Irene... Take Clare and get out of here. We're retreating. This isn't worth it."

Nodding in understanding, Irene lifted Clare without hesitation and rushed out of the area. Soon as she was a good distance away, Teresa gazed into Luciela's eyes before using one last quick sword.

Luciela wasn't expecting it and had it slash into her head. She was able to form a mouth in time to save it from being fatal slash, but not enough to keep it from being severely hindering her.

It was also all that Teresa needed to grab the other claymore and chase after Irene and Clare while suppressing her yoki as much as she could.

Feeling her body revert, Luciela fell the ground and began convulsing. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. She had never experienced this much pain before nor had even been worn out to such a point.

She felt weak and exposed. A regular man could walk up to her and take her without a struggle. She felt as if she was a newborn child, unable to even fend for herself and that sickened her. She was Luciela of the South, one of the three Abyssals.

But now she didn't even have the strength to crawl to shelter. "Damn that woman... Damn her... She'll pay for this!"

Using what little she learned from Naruto, she used what little of her energy that remained to flicker herself to one of her many homes in the south. Lying on the floor as her vision blurred as it faded into darkness, she could see the image of a blonde standing before her, reaching out to her.

Reaching out with the last of her strength, she spoke before finally passing out. "Naruto... come back..."

* * *

Cursing, Naruto was forced to create a few clones and have them stay out of the fight. He hadn't been able to gather enough energy to turn in his sage form. So he stored the energy into the seal and had waited for a moment to create a few clones.

He was forced mostly on the defensive and really wasn't able to get a firm hit on the Awakened before him. As soon as he finished released his stored yoki, he went straight onto the attack and unfortunately for Naruto, his speed, agility and power increased almost ten fold.

Despite this obvious difference in power, Naruto was hanging in very well. He was using every ounce of chakra he had to stay in the fight while waiting for a chance to use his sage form. Its power would tilt the battle in his favor as it increased his overall abilities far greater then he could even imagine.

However, the few hits he took were taking a toll on him. The slash across his chest wasn't much but the two inch wide holes in the lower part his abdomen and the deep gash on his collar bone were bleeding heavily and would be a problem as he was suppressing Kyuubi's chakra, not wanting to use the fox's power.

The only thing good going for him was that he hadn't taken very many hits due to her superior speed. It was one of the things he had been criticized on and he finally had enough and had Gai train him and... Well the rest is history.

Rigaldo was getting extremely irritated. Overall, the fight was a stand still as he was constantly on the attack yet he was quite sure the blonde had gotten in a few more hits then he had. This human was special indeed to fight him at this level while only increasing his power slightly. He could feel the blonde had more, but something was holding him back.

This he was going to put an end to as he stopped his assault and gazed into Naruto's blue eyes. "What is keeping you from using your full power? I want this to be a fight to remember! Not a pussy fight where one focuses entire time evading the others attacks, waiting for his opponent to tire out!"

"Nor do I." Naruto answered honestly, never having liked that style despite having to enforce it a few times to defeat certain foes. "However, my full power takes time to draw out and is why I normally have seal releases for it. ...Unfortunately you caught me at a time where I haven't refilled my seal and the other I gave away years ago."

"How long will it take you to draw it out?" Rigaldo question as his blood boiled, wanting to have a challenging fight. It had been so long since he had fought to his full potential that he was beginning to rust and lose its luster. So it didn't matter if he had to wait, as long as it was reasonable quick.

Looking over at his clones and seeing their meditative stances, one suddenly released and its energy filled the remainder of his seal. Smirking at this, Naruto looked over before the snow around him began to lift into the air. "Fortunately for you, one of my clones has gathered enough to refill my seal."

The snow suddenly exploded around him, the powdery substance floating in the air, slowly returning to earth. As it finally dissipated, Naruto stood in a patch of exposed earth, his eyes turning gold. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but this is my true strength. And now this fight is finished."

Before Rigaldo could even move, Naruto finished a series of seals before literally disappearing. Seconds later, he was behind the lion king with his hand showered with electricity. In one movement, dozens of bolts of lighting shot through the awakened being.

Rigaldo had only felt such pain on two occasions before. One was when fought and lost to Isley and the other was when he found the said man's wife years ago.

Hitting the ground as after the streaks of lighting dissipated, Naruto sighed as he suddenly fell to one knee as his sage form faded away. "Damn I hate that jutsu. It takes so much chakra to use..."

Being replenished by his other clones dispelling themselves, Naruto stood up before he began focus chakra in his hand. "I'm sorry, Rigaldo. You are a worthy foe, but not one that I can have around. This is the end..."

"Now, I wouldn't say that just yet." Another voice made its presence known just as Naruto muttered off at the end, sensing its arrival.

Oh, Naruto did not like this at all. Not only did he knew that this new comer was Isley of the north, he had recognized the other yoki source. It was coming from the young brown haired woman beside the said man's side.

Priscilla.

Naruto really couldn't think his luck could get any worse. He was half expecting Luciela, Teresa and Rifl to all suddenly jump in and attack him at once. He was glad it didn't happen, but there was really no room for him to have a celebration.

Isley was greatly impressed by what he saw in the human before him.

His stance was nearly perfect, leading him to believe he was well trained. He was extremely alert and ready for anything showing that he was well aware of the situation. And lastly, he showed fear knowing that he was overmatched in his current form.

This was a well trained warrior and a good one at that. If such a human existed while he was still human, he would had gone to great lengths to train under him instead of letting himself be sold to the organization.

But the underlying yoki in his system was what intrigued him the most. The power was incalculable and truly astonishing, well beyond his and even his own wife's. That was a power that he could not allow to be used against him.

He wasn't a fool, however. He knew the boy had been with Luciela for over the past few years. So something had to be up if he was in the northern lands. However, having felt Luciela's battle not long ago, he knew that whatever reason the young man was here, Luciela didn't like it.

Still, he couldn't have Rigaldo be killed. "As much of a nuisance he could be for you, I cannot let you kill the commander of my Awakened army. So if you let him live, I will allow you to go and do as you please and my wife and I will not make a single fuss."

Naruto was caught off guard by Isley words; however, his attention was still firmly on Priscilla. If the girl so much remembered who he was, he would no doubly have to call on Kyuubi and hope his six tail form would be enough to drive the two away.

Catching his glance, Isley knew something had happened between Naruto and Priscilla and he knew what. The two had fought in the past, but the blonde probably didn't know that Priscilla had amnesia and had forgotten everything after her younger years, before she even became a Claymore.

Still, it wouldn't help him if the two couldn't get along. That, however, was solved for him when Priscilla suddenly walked straight to Naruto, who flinched back as she leaned her head forward and sniffed him.

Naruto wasn't sure what Priscilla was doing. The girl just continued sniffing before giving him a contented smile. Then she suddenly hugged him and rubbed her head feverishly into his chest. This threw him for a loop and he couldn't think of any response.

Isley also had to scratch his head for a moment to figure out what she was doing before shaking his head. "It seems Priscilla has taken a shine to you. Do you happen to come from the south?"

Frowning as he knew Isley knew the answer to that, Naruto nodded as he had to play along for now. It wouldn't help to get on the good side of the Abyssal of the north. For all he knew, Isley knew how to get off this rock. "Yeah. I was living in the wilderness with a friend."

"Then, why is it you came to the north?" Isley asked, coyly responded as he tried to find out why he left Luciela's side.

Understanding what Isley was getting at, Naruto came out with it as there was no reason to hold out any information. "We had a fight and she ran me off. I came here as I feel much safer her then in the east or west."

Nodding as that was understandable as he wouldn't want to deal with anything the organization or Rifl brought up. In fact, he had hoped that Rifl had fought Luciela a few days ago as he was ready to pounce on the victor, though if it was Luciela it might have been rather difficult with the blonde there.

"Well, if you don't have a place to stay, you can stay with Priscilla and me. It isn't the most comfortable place for a human, but it's bearable. I know Priscilla would love it if you did." Isley stated as he kind of wanted to see more the blonde, to see exactly what he could do.

Prying Priscilla off of him, Naruto gave Isley a harsh look before looking over towards Rigaldo. "To be frank, Isley, I rather not stay with more Awakened Beings. I had to watch Luciela feed and that has left a dark stain on my opinion of Awakens for the rest of my life. Besides, after my little run in with the witch, I'm pretty sure you would like to use my abilities yourself."

Isley shrugged his shoulders at the question while Priscilla looked mildly confused before she ran over to tend to the now reverted Rigaldo. "It means no difference to me. With or without you, I will take over the south so Priscilla can go home again. While your power would help, it isn't a needed factor. I'm just offering you shelter as I rather not get on the bad side of another powerful force."

This suddenly caught Naruto's attention as he was attempting to do exactly what he had said. So narrowing his eyes, Naruto pulling another Akatsuki cloak out of a scroll and sliding it on as the cold was getting to him. "So you wouldn't care if I was to leave after a few days, you would allow it and not try to force me to stay?"

"I would care as long as you aren't fighting against me. And to be honest, the only reason I'm not trying to force you to join is I know that with the yoki you possess, I know I wouldn't stand a chance. I only asked you as Priscilla has seemed to like you and if she were to remember you, I would only ask you to leave." Isley stated, the wind whipping at his thick clothes while his hair seemed to gently flow with it.

Naruto didn't like the fact that Isley knew of his fight with Priscilla, but he didn't seem to want him to join sides with him. Only for him to stay out of his way, which seemed to be a pretty reasonable request. He absently wondered how Priscilla forgot about him, but he figured amnesia had something to do with it.

He also wanted to know what happened to Luciela and Teresa, but he could no longer sense their presences. So even if he went back to the south, it would take a while to find both to figure out what happened. He dreaded the outcome in any scenario and was looking forward to going back to find either an enrage Demon of the South or a dead one.

And as he thought here pondering about staying or leaving, his ass was literally beginning to freeze.

"I'll stay with you for a while... But I cannot promise I will stay out of your way. I will do my best, but I cannot guarantee that we won't cross paths as enemies. Nothing in life is predictable." Naruto finally answered Isley's request.

Isley simply nodded before turning to Priscilla before lifting Rigaldo onto his shoulders effortlessly. "Come, our place isn't too far."

Naruto merely followed the Abyssal as Priscilla attached herself to his arm. He found it weird but comforting in a way as it reminded him of...

Stopping and turning back, making Priscilla stop and look at him oddly, Naruto reached out as he saw an image of a reddish-brown haired woman. "Luciela... I'm sorry..."

* * *

**A/N2**: Well there's the chapter. Shorter then I wanted it, but that's because I couldn't get the battle scenes as long as I wanted them and they were giving me a world of trouble (AKA, Luciela/Teresa). I was tempted to add in how Teresa, Irene and Clare are recouping from the battle, but that will be answered in a few chapters.

The next few chapters will be rather short as well. I might be able to length them, but the next few are just planned to be short as some of them later on are going to be ridiculously long.

Still, I'm sorry for the long break and they might be longer with my flash drive about to crash. If you find any mistakes that I or my beta, Final Sleeper, have missed please let me know and I'll get on it.

See you next chapter, Peace out.


	9. Priscilla's Memory

**A/N**: Um... Very sorry for this late update. I really didn't have any inspiration for this chapter until recently, so maybe I can get a few more done before I hit another slump. This chapter also had to be redone a few times as I didn't like how it flowed or how it ended. *For those that care, that is also why there hasn't been an update for Fox and Cat.*

And finally, while I'm using an MP3 as a flash drive, it doesn't work too well and sometimes the stories loaded are screwed up. If you see anything really odd, please tell me and I'll try and get it fixed. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, Priscilla's Memory.

I Do Not Own Naruto or Claymore

* * *

It was so dark and around her. She wanted nothing more then him to be besides her to warm her. But instead, she had chased that person away and now she had nothing.

She would admit to herself that he had been very inconsiderate those final few days, but she was finally beginning to understand why. His home meant so much to him that he could give up anything and everything to go back. He had nothing here while everything he loved was there.

She also had to be honest that she never really tried too hard to find him a way back to his home, wanting him to stay with her. She was keeping him prisoner, willing albeit, but still a prisoner nonetheless.

That was why he had fled both times, despite all the accommodations she gave him. She was keeping him trapped within her space while feeding him an occasional false hope that she would find a way for him to return home. And what was worse was that he knew she was lying.

Putting herself into his shoes, she felt nauseous and ready to vomit. To restrict one's freedom when that was what was most precious to them made her stomach knot. And that was what she had done to him these last few years. And after learning what she had from his stories, she began to realize how much of a foul temptress she had been.

Even despite all of that, he was nothing but kind to her. Sure, he had a few rough edges and was self centered occasionally, like she was, but those were things she could accept. No one was perfect. Further more, she remembered the stories he told her of his land, especially the later ones as they led up to how he arrived.

He had given up everything in order to liberate his friends from a cruel tyrant. He had became the leader of the formerly radical group and just as he was about to bring forth a new dawn, he found himself suddenly whisked away to this world. Despite that, he continued trying to find a way back while also ridding this world of its own problems. He truly was a diamond in the rough... And not just for the power he contained.

As tears fell from her eyes, she slowly picked herself off the floor before walking to a closet and pulling on a new dress and a thick coat over it. Without hesitation, she exited the house before her gaze turned to the north.

"He had given everything up to protect those he cared for... And I've kept him from going back and fulfilling his dream. So I'll will do the same and give everything up to protect what I care for the most. ...I am no longer Luciela of the South... I am just Luciela."

"Naruto, Rafaela... I'm coming for you."

With a wisp of her cloak, Luciela headed north, ready to confront the harsh cold and the master of the north to regain the first of her lost treasures.

* * *

Priscilla watched excitedly as Naruto and Isley battled, cheering for both when one caught the other off guard. While neither was giving it their all, that was how a spar worked.

Isley couldn't believe what he was seeing. He always considered himself a tactical genius and that wasn't far from the truth as he was the former number one warrior during the age of man and he had to compete against other warriors such as Rigaldo and Dauf.

However, this Naruto... was something out of the ordinary.

To be honest with himself, if the young man happened to be a Claymore there would be no doubt he would have been number one. He was matching him move for move physically, he was able to keep himself four or five steps ahead of himself and when Isley threw in a new wrinkle, it didn't take long for the blonde to recover.

He even had awakened his arm to keep up. While this was a spar, he could just feel Naruto was holding back himself as he did not have the same look as he had a week before. Rigaldo was still being treated for his wounds as Naruto complete dominated him after transforming.

Smirking as he fired an arrow he created from his own flesh, Isley watched as Naruto barely even moved, just taking a step to the side, to avoid the blow. If this was how powerful the young man was without his yoki, just how powerful could he be when he used it?

Taking a step back to avoid the projectile thrown at him from the side, he continued smirking as a small trail of blood flowed from his cheek. If he could convince the boy to stay here with him, at least till his job was done, there would be nothing that could stand in his way.

"Behind you!" Priscilla yelled out as she watched from the side, enjoying the fight very much.

It happened to be her idea in the first place as Naruto had left Rigaldo in such sorry shape that she wondered if he was a match for her husband. Or at least that is what she considered him. It was much better then calling him her general as he took care of her day in and day out and made sure her needs were met.

But there was something odd about the blonde as she watched him fight. It was as if his movements were familiar to her. And she knew she had seen his clothes before, but she didn't know from where. His weapons also made her wonder as they seemed to be extremely unique and she swore she had fought against someone that used them before.

Shrugging her shoulders as it didn't matter now, Priscilla continued watching while smiling as Isley turned around to see what she warned him about.

The Abyssal could only look in shock as the blonde stood behind him as the air around him condensed. He absently noted the sounds of the other blondes dispersing as the air suddenly took the shape of a furious, long bodied dragon and roared before it streaked towards him.

Just as it approached him, Isley jumped into the air, avoiding the dragon all together as it tore the ground beneath him apart, shredding the rocks and turning them into shrapnel as they cut into Isley flesh.

As they died down, he looked for a safe place to land only for his eyes to widen even further as a burst of flames bathed the ground below him. Turning to Naruto, he noticed that his hands were in an odd seal before the wind around him began to pick up and swirl violently. "Wind Release: Shredding Maelstrom."

The flames from the ground were suddenly picked up by the winds that surrounded him. In almost seconds, the flames were whisking around him, burning and cutting into his skin. The vortex of flames roared, deafening him as he tried to find a way down only to realize the further down he went the hotter it became.

Knowing what he had to do; Isley coated his body with his yoki shielding him from the harsh flames. As he neared the base of the flaming vortex, he pulsed his yoki, almost beginning to awaken his body.

Flames bathed the entire area, forcing Naruto to shield himself as Priscilla jumped up in surprise. All the snow in the area melted showing the sparse plant life that lived underneath it while the trees were burnt to a crisp.

Isley panted as his arm reverted back to normal. He had rather liked the clothes he was wearing, but compared to what he had just witnessed, it was well worth the loss. This Naruto... He truly was unbelievable. He had forced him to almost awaken and if this were a true fight, he would have.

Looking into the blonde' direction, a large sweat drop fell from his head as Naruto moped as he held up his tattered cloak. "Not again... How many of my cloaks are going to get destroyed here? ...I don't have that many left."

Even Priscilla sweat dropped at his statement, not sure whether the blonde really loved that cloak that much or if it had something important in it. He seemed to pull practically any and everything from the cloak, so there was some logic to not wanting to have his cloak be destroyed.

Sighing as he replaced it once more with yet another cloak, Naruto grumbled a little. "Okay, if this one gets destroyed I'm going to be pissed. These things aren't easily made and cost a small fortune to make... Which sucks as there is no one on this rock that can make them like Konan!"

"Who's Konan?" Priscilla asked which Naruto had deemed rare as she hadn't spoken but a few words before then. However what caught his attention was that there seemed to be an underlined reason for her question. Was it possible that she was jealous of Konan?

It seemed Isley had caught this in her voice as he spoke with a slight chuckle in his voice. "Now, now Priscilla. There is no need to go and get jealous, after all he is human and we... Are not. Besides, it sounds like she was simply a seamstress that made durable clothing."

"Yeah, it takes a lot of damage... But since the power I use daily is more then enough to tear it to shreds, I just have a habit of destroying them and that irks Konan to no end." Naruto added on as he fiddled with his cloak, adjusting it to his needs.

Priscilla frowned as she saw him do this. She didn't know why, but just tinkering with his black cloak seemed to set off alarms in her head. It was quite odd as there was no reason for her to fear him, at least at the moment. As long as his yoki was safely contained, there shouldn't be a reason to fear him.

Shaking her head, Priscilla frowned once more before she scrunched her face in an attempt to remember. However what she remembered was what she was doing before she had proposed the spar.

She suddenly took of screaming at the top of her lungs towards the cabin, her arms thrashing about in a panic. "AH! I LEFT THE FOOD COOKING IN THE OVEN! NO IT'S GOING TO BE BURNED!"

Both Isley and Naruto simply stared at the powder of snow left in Priscilla's wake for a moment. Then a moment later the busted out laughing at the plight of the young Awakened. There wasn't much to laugh up in the north due to the bitter coldness, but that was comical no matter the location.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Naruto shook his head as he got his laughter under control. "Well, we better head back. I have some food... That needs to be prepared again."

Isley nodded as he contained his laughter as well; however his lip was twitching every now and again. A moment later, however, his eyes narrowed and looked towards the soft before he recovered and shook his head. "Sorry, but I have to feed as well. I will be back in a few."

Grimacing as Isley left, the powder snow trail being the only indication of which direction he had went, Naruto sighed. At least with Luciela he had curbed her feeding, but with these two it seemed they ate every few weeks.

Looking towards the south with a forlorn expression, Naruto sighed again as he pulled his hands within the cloak. "Luciela... You're here, aren't you? ...Just give me a little time. I think Isley may now someway off this rock."

With that, he turned away from the direction he was faced and walked to the cabin as he didn't want to make Priscilla wait much longer.

* * *

Not too far away, only a few miles, in a sparse forest with snow covering the trees, a familiar brunette laid against a tree with her eyes shut, her face tightened in concentration. However, a small smirk graced her lips as her eyes slowly opened. "I see... Ever the deceptive one you are, Naruto."

Waiting for a few moments, she stood from her tree and began to head off. Suddenly, where she was standing moments before, the snow burst into a fine powder as the tree groaned before crashing to the ground. "Ah, Isley. What a pleasant surprise to see you came to meet me? I thought you might send that woman."

Isley did not like this situation in the least. Thankfully he had some clothing on to look moderately decent, but that was the least of his concerns. "Why have you encroached on my lands, Luciela of the South?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Luciela chimed as she didn't even bother to look him in the eyes. "I'm no longer 'of the South'. I am just Luciela. Therefore if you wish to claim the South, go right ahead, I won't stop you."

Growling as he wasn't sure what kind of game the Demon was trying to pull, Isley frowned as he began to prepare himself for battle. "Answer my question, Luciela. Why are you here?"

"Don't bother; you won't beat me in your condition." Looking back him, her eyes simply glowed as she could tell he was ready to release his yoki and transform despite her words. "But if you must know, I've come to collect one of my precious treasures. So safely assume I'm not here to take anything of yours."

Realization suddenly dawned onto Isley before his eyes narrowed, knowing why she had came to the north. "So you are here for him, are you? What makes you think I'd let you have him easily..."

"Because you know you can't keep him here. If he wants get away, there isn't a force on this continent that will stop him from getting away." Luciela quickly responded, nearly cutting him off as she knew what he was getting at.

Calming so Priscilla wouldn't sense his rising yoki; Isley looked Luciela in the eyes before dropping his guard a tad as he could tell Luciela would be leaving very soon, not wanting to escalate the situation. "So what makes you think he would come back to you after he left?"

Luciela only smirked before she turned and slowly began to walk away from Isley. Knowing it was angering him as she walked away; she simply raised her hand before answering his question. "It's simple. He is mine."

And just like that, the snow swirled around her and she suddenly dispersed as if she was never there to begin with.

Isley was stunned. He couldn't sense her presence anywhere within his lands. It was as if she had never been there to begin with yet he clearly had seen her.

His eyes narrowed at this, but he was more worried then angered. Checking the snow where she previously stood only to see she wasn't there, he knew she was playing some kind of game, but what was bothering him. He knew Naruto probably would not help his invasion of the south, but now he had to wonder if possessing the south would be such a chore with what she had told him.

Unsure whether or not she was telling the truth, Isley shook his head before looking in the direction of a nearby town. He still needed to feed to replenish his strength after his spar with Naruto.

Watching him disappear, Luciela simply chuckled where she sat. "My, while you cannot use it to their fullest potential, those illusions come in very handy. To be able to fool one as Isley with an illusion is nothing short of outstanding."

Jumping back down to the snow below, Luciela shook her head as she looked towards the black cloaked figure that was only feet from her. "I'll give you your time, Naruto. But if it isn't soon, I might have to break in there and get you. Now dissipate and return to your master."

"It shouldn't take but a few more days." Naruto responded before pausing for a moment. "...But before I return, I must ask, are you still seething over what happened?"

Luciela didn't answer right away which led the clone to believe she was. However, before he could dissipate, she closed her eyes and nodded. "I am, but that is natural. However, I will take some of the blame for what transpired..."

Pausing for a bit, making sure the clone hadn't returned its knowledge to Naruto, she flicked her hand through her hair before sighing as she looked up to the sky. "After all, the only one suited for finding a way off this rock is one that doesn't come from it, am I correct?"

Listening to her, the clone didn't display any outwardly emotion before it nodded. "That is all he really wanted to know... And for what it is worth, he is sorry."

"That I know, but I still want to hear it from him, not you. Now return; Isley will surely come back here after he feeds and replenishes his reserves." Luciela coldly responded before she truly flickered away as the snow swarmed around her.

Sighing and shaking his head, the clone rolled his eyes and said one thing before dispersing. "Man, boss, do you know how to fuck things up."

* * *

Cringing for no obvious reason, at least in Priscilla's mind, Naruto combed a hand through his hair before mentally groaning.

Luciela was extraordinarily pissed at him. He knew this as when a woman acted as if she wasn't too horribly angered and even accepted part of the blame the man was about to see her darkest side. This he knew thanks to Jiraiya after Tsunade began to no longer care about his peeping... Then he almost died at her hands again.

'My guts are going to get eaten when I go back to her... Well, there goes my plans for the weekend.' Naruto mused grimly as many images of him being disemboweled popped up. Meanwhile his face was absolutely blank as these thoughts bounced around in his dome.

Priscilla simply blinked at Naruto, knowing he was deep in thought but couldn't figure out what it was about. She had placed his food in front of him and he hadn't even noticed, which was surprising as he could eat very quickly if he was starved and it seemed battling did exactly that.

Now there could have been the chance he was trying to figure out what had just gone down not too far away, but she really didn't think so. She immediately knew it was another Abyssal that had arrived yet for some reason Isley had left her alone for a little while before she disappeared altogether.

While that had her slightly disturbed as her sensory range was better then any awakened she had personally met, it didn't take much for her to figure out what had happened. It had obviously been the demon of the south, probably trying to negotiate with them.

Personally, while she rather be rid of her, she knew there was a balance of power that kept the organization from acting against them. Well, now that she was there that balance was no longer really there and all the other sides were scrambling to raise their forces to keep from being overwhelmed.

But that still left the question to what the demon of the south had been doing. From what Isley reported she had done nothing to at least raise her chances from being overwhelmed by arms race between the Abyssals and the Organization. But then there was a reason why... She held a powerful ally in a human.

Frowning as her eyes suddenly turned to Naruto; Priscilla couldn't help but think it was him. After all he was extraordinarily strong and defeated Rigaldo and nearly forced Isley to transform in their spar. That kind of strength had to be respected and the fact that he was a wild card as little was known about his full capacity.

Yet that yoki felt so familiar! She knew she had sensed it before, but she didn't know how and where she would have ran into him.

Finally getting tired as she watched him start to eat the food she had cooked, Priscilla spoke as she had to know. "I know you... I know you... Tell me why I know you?"

The only thought going through Naruto's head at that moment was 'Oh shit!' If she was beginning to remember him, there would be no doubt she would remember the fight in the village and then the fight when she had awakened and he had called upon the fox.

Now he could obviously deny her claim, but that wasn't an option any longer as her memory was returning. His next option was to say they had and then lie saying they had only met briefly. Finally telling her the entire truth just seemed to be the worst case scenario.

Biting his lip, he had no choice but to nod. "We have met before. I'm surprised you don't remember me as I thought I made an impression on you."

Narrowing her eyes at this, why would she have not remembered something like that? There was some things she did remember before she became like she was now. Most of her memory was a blank, especially her life as a Claymore, but she remembered a lot of key moments. She remembered Irene, Noel and Sophia... But didn't remember what they were doing together.

Needing to know more, Priscilla turned to Naruto only to find he was gone and the front door. Her eyes widened in shock, not understanding why he had ran before noticing the table had been smashed and two and her hand was where the table use to be.

Cringing a little as that was on accident; Priscilla wondered why he would have ran. She was only trying to remember, so why would he...

"IT WAS HIM!" Priscilla suddenly screamed as she grabbed her head as if she was in pain.

She remembered him now! He was the one that was helping the fugitive Claymore she and her group was sent after. He had nearly killed Noel, immobilized Irene with some sort of explosion and then... The yoki... She knew that yoki. She had fought against it before when she had awoken.

The fear she had felt fighting him as he had been destroying her in combat until she got in a lucky shot and nearly crushed his being. It was similar to another fear... The one _she_ gave her. He kept her from killing her! That's where she knew him from!

His yoki soared around, tearing away everything even remotely near her before Priscilla burst from the cabin, nearly completely destroying it. Using both her yoki detection and her sense of smell, she immediately located how far he had gotten away and sped towards him.

Naruto had decided when Priscilla destroyed the table, it was time to go. He had a good head start, knowing Priscilla hadn't entire figured everything out and was zoned out when she did. But that head start seemed to close within a matter of seconds.

"FUCKING HELL! SHE IS FAST!" Naruto yelled out despite no one being there to hear him. He guessed it was more impulsive then anything, but he suddenly hit the brakes and ducked as Priscilla sped by, crashing as she missed him entirely.

Knowing his options were limited, Naruto immediately threw off his cloak as he didn't want to be destroyed. Fighting was about the only way he was getting out of this as reasoning with an Awakened was something that just didn't seem to work too well, especially when they were pissed.

"**I have a plan, mortal... So listen.**" Kyuubi's dark voice echoed within his mind and for one of the few times, Naruto was inclined to listen...

"You... You caused me so much fear... I will make you feel the fear you made me go through!" Priscilla screamed out and her visage began to change.

"THAT'S ENOUGH PRISCILLA!" Isley yelled out as he jumped between the two, looking at them before cursing as he knew what had happened.

Priscilla had finally had regained some of her memories of when she awoke. He knew Naruto had been there and was more then likely a cause of her transformation. Sure, he probably wasn't the main reason but he might have induced her into awakening and now she remembered him.

This didn't fit well with his plans as he really wanted to keep him from the south as he had planned to take it over. Then he remembered what Luciela said and was beginning to wonder if she had set this up. He wouldn't put it past her, but this didn't seem premeditated.

Looking over at Priscilla, Isley turned fully to her and shook his head. "Priscilla, come back. This battle will result in only bringing Luciela and Riful here together... And things will end badly if they show."

Seeing Priscilla wasn't going to, Isley knew there wasn't much he could do now as she seemed hell bent on her target when red yoki suddenly melted the chakra and formed around Naruto. "Back down, Priscilla. You don't want a repeat of last time, do you?"

Her eyes suddenly widened as more memories came to her. She remembered their fight... He had dominated it in every way. But there was something worse... He had not released more then of half of the yoki that seemed to be within him. And if he released any more then what they had met...

"What are you?" Priscilla screamed out, this time more in fear as she began to sense the depths of the yoki within, her body almost freezing as she heard a loud roar before a fox head appeared before her eyes.

Naruto had to admit the fox's plan had worked. Only using a small portion of his power, he had managed to draw in Priscilla's attention to the depth of the fox's power. He hated to use the fox as an intimidation factor, but at this moment it was the only working plan he had.

Letting the fox's power deplete around him, Naruto glanced at Priscilla before closing his eyes. "I am the power of human sacrifice. I am the vessel to the most powerful demon to ever exist. ...That is what I am. Now don't make me call forth the full extent of its strength."

Isley frowned immediately. He knew of a legend that concerned a demon that supposedly was more powerful then any other, but he had thought it was just a story to scare people. Could it be possible that he was telling the truth? The amount of yoki he possessed within his body was great enough to make his statement plausible...

But now he had a decision. Would he do what he could to keep Naruto here and lose Priscilla, keep Priscilla and let him go back to Luciela or...? "Naruto... This isn't very well known, but there is a ship that can be found on the eastern side of the continent... On the Organization's territory."

Looking at Isley with a raised eyebrow, Naruto let Isley continue as he had more to say. "That ship is gone months at a time, but every time it comes back there is more material and a new batch of workers. ...The Organization knows of lands outside of this one. They might be what you need to get off this island."

Digesting what he had been told, Naruto really wanted to say Isley was lying but he knew he wasn't. While he did not want to have to fight him, he would not stoop to such an act to get rid of a potential threat. As he would say, that was something Riful would do.

"Well then... I guess I will half to wait until the right time to try and take that boat." Naruto commented before the snow around him began to swarm around him. "But for now, I have a deal that I must uphold."

Soon as the snow stopped swirling, Naruto had disappeared leaving Isley with Priscilla. The man of the north, however, wasn't too worried now. Naruto would be more focused on leaving this rock and if he was lucky, he would take Luciela with him.

Of that much, he hoped as fighting him was something that Isley did not want to chance.

* * *

Sitting on her own gave Luciela plenty of time to think. But the more she thought, the more she didn't understand. And the more she didn't understand, the more frustrated she got. And now she was very goddamn frustrated and was ready to storm down and retrieve Naruto.

Just as she thought of him, the snow swirled violently for a moment before Naruto landed before her on one knee. Surprised at this, Luciela was about to take advantage of this situation when Naruto began to totter left and right as if he was dizzy... "Oh come on... What the hell happened now?"

He said nothing which made her worry at first before he suddenly hit the snow, his entire being slowly flickering in and out of existence. It, however, only lasted for a moment. "What the... What just happened here?"

Luciela had seen Naruto techniques go wrong before, but nothing like this had happened. But what was more disturbing was it didn't seem that he was the cause of whatever happened this time around. She felt another yoki presence, even if it was brief. It wasn't around them, that she was sure of. It came from within him.

Another yoki signature had appeared and it had seemingly pulled on his essence... No, the fox's essence. Something was calling for the fox?

Frowning as she was beginning to wonder if this was what had called him to this world, Luciela sighed and lifted Naruto on her shoulder. As of now, she would have to wait for his apology. "Well, at least I've learned something... Weird shit happens around you. Now let's go home..."

"I don't think so... Drop him as he is coming with me." A familiar voice said before a lone warrior appeared before Luciela with the faintest smile she had ever seen, her sword drawn.

Luciela's face dropped as she saw who it was. This was not going to be good.


	10. Accepting Fate

Yawning and slowly beginning to get up, Clare rubbed her eyes as her vision was rather blurry. Seeing the snow all around her, she began to panic before the said snow was brushed away. "I swear... You sleep in the weirdest places. How you fell asleep on a mound of snow and sink into it without catching frostbite is beyond me."

Looking up, Clare sheepishly laughed at her other caretaker before looking around. She immediately frowned as she couldn't find Teresa anywhere and that was rather uncommon. It was also midday and that had her rather worried as they normally left early in the morning and didn't stop traveling until the sun had set. "Irene... Where is Teresa?"

Sighing as she figured this would be her first question; Irene simply shook her head before pointing into the distance. "She went on ahead as she has some important business to attend to and left me here with you to make sure you were safe. She'll come back very soon."

Clare nodded as she knew there were some things that were just too dangerous for her to tag along with her mother figure. If Teresa thought it was best for her to stay behind, she would accept that as she knew she would come back after it was done.

But something had bothered her. Why had they come to the north? She could see that Teresa was on a hunt, tracking something down, but she did not know what it was the former number one was tracking. This bothered her as either Irene or Teresa would tell her what they were doing but this time neither had.

Needing to know what was going on, Clare picked herself out of the snow and noticed Irene now was sitting besides the fire. Walking over to her, and also to the fire as she was rather cold, she sat down before the flames. After a moment of warming up, Clare looked up and at Irene before finally speaking. "What is it Teresa is following?"

Irene was rather impressed. Clare was able to determine they were tracking something without being told. The girl definitely had some skill, both physical and mental, and would make a fine warrior... But neither she nor Teresa wished that fate for her, wanting her to live somewhat normally.

Then again, that was the reason they were tracking him. He was, as for as she knew, a pureblood human and could possibly teach Clare some of his skills. It for one would probably make it easier on both her and Teresa knowing she could at least defend herself. However, the more important reason was to have a father figure, which from what Teresa had told her Naruto had become in their short time together.

Shaking her head of all of this, Irene sighed once more before looking off into the distance, feeling Teresa's presence along with two very familiar ones. "We have been tracking him... And Teresa has left to convince him to come back."

Clare was stunned. He was still alive... But she was told Awakened were just like Yoma and ate humans. So did that mean he had survived and was wandering the northern plains? But how did he escape or did he charm his way out of the Awakened's grasp?

Gripping onto the necklace he had given her, Clare looked off into the distance as well, hoping that both Naruto and Teresa would be alright.

* * *

Hissing in her throat, Luciela's eyes shone a dark silver as her yoki began to swell within. She didn't need this right now. She had just retrieved Naruto and now this woman, the same one that she had first found Naruto with, was back to claim him and take him from her.

Her yoki exploded around her and began to rage around her like an untamed storm, not showing any fear despite knowing the strength of the warrior before her. "_GO AWAY! I don't have time to deal with the likes of you! HE BELONGS TO ME!_"

Despite being surprised at Luciela's aggression and the raw hatred coming from her words, Teresa stood her ground. Her faint smile simply grew. Luciela was afraid of her and what she could do. This would make things much easier.

"Well, it seems even you realized it now. You don't have a chance here, so let him go before you cause any more damage to him." Teresa stated as she drew forth her claymore, preparing to strike at a moments notice to keep Luciela from transforming into her true state.

Even being as enraged as she was at Teresa's arrival, she caught what she had said at the end and her eyes turned to Naruto. Her yoki, while not causing any serious damage was corrosive to him and it was beginning to take its toll as minor cuts racked his skin while her yoki accidentally was being injected into him causing some trouble as his chakra and the beast yoki fought against it.

Briefly drawing back her yoki, she set Naruto in the snow where he wouldn't get involved, before turning back to Teresa and allowing her yoki to burst forth as it was before, this time beginning her transformation. "_You don't get it girl! He is one of my treasures and I will not let him go!_"

Teresa saw her transformation and tried to stop it, but even with the speed of the Quick Sword she was unable to make contact as Luciela made the transformation, easily moving out of her away. "You dodged?"

Luciela's eyes burned a bright silver as she gazed at her opponent, she growled as her yoki continued to increase around her as her leg muscles tensed. "_**I will not just surrender him to you! As long as I draw breath, I will fight as he IS MINE!**_"

In a blink, Luciela was suddenly on Teresa, her front claws clashing against Teresa's blade, pushing her back. Yowling, she swung her other claw only for Teresa to knock her other hand back and jump towards her face, her sword becoming nothing more then a flash. It was blocked easily as Luciela's tail whipped over her head and knocked it back.

Skidding against the ground, Teresa wasted no time and closed her eyes, focusing on her own yoki before bring it forth. Snapping her eyes open, they shone brightly becoming a deeper silver then before while her eye dilated and became more focused on her opponent. Drawing her sword before her for a moment, she charged the Abyssal.

But in that exact moment Luciela blurred from vision, a mist of powdered snow trailing her movements, and appeared behind Teresa with yoki beginning to form within her mouth. If it wasn't for Teresa ability to sense yoki, despite the amount being released being almost so great that she couldn't see it correctly, Teresa would have been unable to avoid the ensuing blast.

Taking in the damage and how familiar that blast was, Teresa frowned. She had not expected that the Demon of the South had been holding some tricks back in their fight. She could reason with the speed as the forest would have hindered her speed and there was always the chance she would have wounded herself and become easy prey.

However, the last attack made Teresa worry as that was the same attack Naruto had used when his demonic presence took over in the fight against Priscilla. It was as if he had been teaching her... And that could not bode well as that meant there had to be a few more tricks up his sleeve that he could have taught to Luciela.

As if thinking about that wasn't bad enough, it seemed as if Luciela grinned before the snow around her began to swirl around her violently. Then in a blink of an eye, she was gone. No trail of powdered snow. She had simply vanished, leaving no traces were she had gone making it impossible for Teresa to sense her until the very last second.

The Quick Sword had only just saved her life as her blade met Luciela's claw. Then the worse happened as each of the Abyssal's fingers lengthened into lances and shot straight for her and pierced through her... But once more Teresa had surprised her and was behind her; her blade drawn as if she had cut into her.

Then it hit her. The excruciating pain was so great that her unearthly yowl shook the snow as the majority arm fell to the powder, staining it purple as her blood gushed from the stumped arm. Falling to the ground, still growling out in pain, Luciela attempted to attach her arm back as her yoki flowed to the arm.

Seeing this, Teresa knew she could end this and moved in to finish the fight, appearing above her with her sword held above her to decapitate her in one stroke. But at that exact second, she became stunned as the arm suddenly regenerate as if she was a defensive-type instead of an offense one and the said stretched out towards her, a ball of pure yoki being formed.

Cursing, not having much time herself, Teresa switched her blade to her left hand before outstretching her right arm and began to do the same. This caught Luciela off guard as the two yoki orbs met. They were evenly matched and quickly gave out to the other before Teresa dropped down, Luciela forced to use her jump speed to avoid being decapitated.

Panting heavily, using a lot of her yoki very quickly, Luciela frowned as she stood on her hind legs and looked over at Teresa. "_**How? How do you know that attack? He was only with you for a few days at most!**_"

Teresa, panting just a deeply, simply grinned as she gripped both of her hands onto her sword and held it before her. "You want to know the truth... I'm just that talented. But it makes me wonder..."

Just then, the snow began to swirl violently around. And to Luciela's horror, she had performed the Body Flicker and appeared behind her with her blade slashing to her stomach. "If I can do this as well!"

Once again using her jump speed, Luciela easily got away from Teresa. However, this time she had paid the price as a tail laid behind her, severed from Teresa's cut. Growling deeply, not sure how this could be possible, the Demon of the South gazed at her opponent carefully. "_**What are you?**_"

Teresa only faintly smiled as she looked Luciela in the eyes, lowering her sword to her side as she closed her shining silver eyes as the very air itself stilled, her yoki beginning to build around her. "I'm just like you... I'm a monster."

* * *

"Oh?" Isley commented as he helped Priscilla to their bed having just got her to calm down and go to sleep. Naruto's little scare tactics near the end before he left were actually a blessing as it indeed worked and Priscilla had seemed to revert back into her childish demeanor, only she kept the fear she had for the red power as she called it.

However, it was none of this that had caught his attention. It was the high levels of yoki deep in the southern portion of his territory. He knew one happened to be Luciela, who was heading back to the south to keep from drawing more attention to her.

Under normal circumstances he would have not allowed her to have been in his land, but as of right now he wasn't so sure she he wanted to fight her. He also knew she was only here for something she claimed as hers, AKA Naruto, and he really didn't want to deal with her with him around.

But what was troubling was the outage of yoki coming not only from her, but from her opponent. Whoever it was, they were extraordinarily powerful. There was no doubt it was not Naruto, as that yoki was something he could easily sense, but it wasn't comforting in the slightest as it was greater then even his own at full strength.

He could literally feel what was happening in the fight as if he was there, watching the fight. It went back and forth, the control of the fight changing so quickly and often that he wasn't sure who would come out on top. But no matter who came out on top of this fight... It was something he didn't like as yet another with the powers of an Abyssal had shown themselves.

"My lord... What is going on out there?" Rigaldo's voice caught Isley's attention as a cloak was placed over him, still being nude after feeding and bringing Priscilla back.

Isley was surprised at this, having been so caught up in the fight that he must have left the room and even the cabin to get a better feel for the fight. "You can feel it to, Rigaldo. This fight... This horrible show can only be brought forth when two with the power of an Abyssal clash. They very well might change the landscape of the southern tip of my lands."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Rigaldo asked, wanting to do something to help his superior as they both focused their attention back onto the battle.

"No there isn't. If I were to head to finish off the winner of this battle, there is a chance Riful would get involved and that is the last thing that is need. Besides, I can sense he is there too... So it is best to sit back and watch." Isley responded, carefully evaluating the fight despite it being so far away.

His eyes, however, narrowed drastically before his entire being froze at the tremendous power that he could feel. But in an instant, he threw it off as both Priscilla's and Naruto's hidden strength was greater. "Interesting... This fight is just about over. But I wonder, will he let it?"

Puzzled by Isley last words, having sense the incredible strength from one of the two combatants, Rigaldo simply turned his attention back to the south. This would be an interesting finish.

* * *

"This is incredible. I'd never felt anything like this before." Irene stated, watching the fight from the farthest distance possible to keep from being caught in it with Clare this time.

To be honest, she really didn't even feel safe here with Teresa unleashing her power like she was now as she faced off with the Abyssal of the South. It was Clare that brought her this close as she wanted to make sure her mother was alive and well. Irene told her that she could feel what was going on, but that wasn't enough and in the end she had to go as Clare was determined to be there and headed in the direction she told her Teresa had left.

It was somewhat annoying that a small child was leading her here, possibly to an early grave, but at the same time she had a feeling this child may have been the very reason she was still around. If she had not been present when Luciela attacked before, she might have been caught up in the fight and could have lost her life.

So for that, she was grateful. She valued her life highly after witnessing Priscilla's devastating powers and she would do what she could to stay alive. ...Even if that meant she had to be somewhat of a permanent baby-sitter for Clare.

"I can barely make it out... What's going on?" Clare stated, having tried to watch the battle from this distance but failed as her eyesight was nothing compared to Irene or Teresa's.

"It is an equal battle... But now Teresa has released forty percent of her power. But what has me worried is... Clare, what are you doing?" Irene suddenly shouted as she noticed the young brunette run forward, scaring the former number two as she did not want to get involved and get killed or get scolded by Teresa.

But in a moment, she immediately saw what Clare had run to as she had stopped not soon after she had shouted. Kneeling down, brushing away some of the snow, there laid Naruto, looking perfectly fine as his wounds from Luciela's yoki had healed smoothly. "We should get him out of here... That way Teresa can stop fighting."

Being stunned that he was found this easily, Irene was half tempted to drag him away as Clare was suggesting. The only problem would be if Luciela happened to be the victor, they would be chased by the Demon of the South and she didn't want to deal with an Abyssal, even if they were weakened drastically.

Weighing the bad with the good, Irene had to agree with Clare. Getting him out of there would be for the best, as Teresa had the upper hand now and would most likely not relinquish it now as the odds were in her favor. But as she moved to lift him, a vast amount of yoki began to expel from Luciela's now human body.

This forced Irene to turn her attention back to the battle, which in turn made Clare look. Beginning to shake as this outage of yoki was something far beyond anything she had felt from even Priscilla, Irene took a step back as her fear began to overwhelm her. "No this can't be... Has she been holding back all this time?"

As Clare began to feel frightened as well, seeing the deadly aura surrounding the one opposing Teresa, neither noticed Naruto face physically changed and his golden eyes snapped open.

* * *

Powdered snow was now scattered through the air like a fine mist, making it almost impossible to see a foot before there very eyes. Luciela didn't need her eyes to see what had happened. Her haired stood on ends as her entire body became rigid.

This was insane. She had estimated the power that Teresa had summoned to break free and knock her down to be at least fifty percent. But now she could see how wrong she was now she had seen her truly tap into her vast yoki and it made her afraid. If she was fighting at fifty now... She would be lucky to stand a chance.

But luck didn't seem to be favoring right her as she could barely see any physical changes with the warrior before her now that the snowy mist had subsided, meaning she more then likely had only brought her outage to forty percent at best. And that meant... If she really wanted to extinguish her, she could at any time without awakening.

To Luciela's credit, this only seemed to enrage her. But instead of letting her rage flow rampantly as she had done in the past, she focused it on herself, searching for something she knew that would equal this out. She knew what she had to do to be rid of this opponent once and for all.

In an instant, Luciela began to revert back to her human form, bare of any clothing. This act caught Teresa off guard but the fact that her yoki had stayed just as potent as before and flared around her fiercely had her worried as an Awakened, no matter who they were, shouldn't keep their power from their transformed state.

"I told you... To go away. I did not want to have to resort to this." Luciela stated calmly, her yoki suddenly beginning to condense around her as she closed her eyes. "If you go now, I'll let you live. If not... This will be your end."

Teresa began to think retreating now was one of her best options. Before when she released her power to her extent she could see the fear on Luciela's demonic face. But now as she looked into her eyes, she could see that whatever Luciela had up her sleeve would be enough to warrant great caution.

Glancing over towards the direction Naruto was in, which was a good distance as their fight was moving away from him, something Luciela seemed key on and she had no problem with. Immediately Teresa frowned as there was Clare and Irene, in the middle of their damn battle field... Something she sternly told Irene to keep Clare out of!

However, this was to her advantage. If they could take him and get him out of here, she would only have to weaken her just a little longer before retreating. Sure, Luciela would notice this but to continue her fight with her after that would be foolish as it would end with her loosing her head.

Bringing her sword before her, Teresa kept her focus completely on the Abyssal before her as she drew a deep breath. "You best hope this succeeds... Otherwise I will take your head in the next attack."

Narrowing her eyes, Luciela growled as this girl would not back down. She was not bluffing but if she wouldn't back down, she would unleash hell onto the warrior. Finding what she had been searching for within her, something she could not do when transformed, Luciela simply gazed over Teresa void of any emotion. "If that is what you wish... First Gate, Open."

The condensing yoki around her suddenly began to pour from her body like wildfire, quickly matching Teresa's before simply overtaking it and moving far beyond. The snow began to melt from the pressure being asserted and the ground began to crack and even lift before her as her power continued to soar far beyond her limits.

Hell then began as Luciela disappeared. Teresa found herself uplifted and knocked into the air, rapidly flying away from the battle scene. In the next moment Luciela appeared behind her and began to connect with a barrage of unholy punches, not even bothering with a kick before she hit her on the back of her head with a back hand, blasting her back towards their starting point.

In the next moment, Teresa shot forth directly up into the air as once more Luciela appeared before her and caught a kick into her chest. This time, Luciela simply chased and grabbed her torso before bringing her knee straight into the back of her spine.

Teresa screamed out in agony, as it felt as if her spine literally had just been snapped in two but Luciela didn't stop as she picked her up and threw her into the ground, the snow acting as no cushion as she went straight through it and into the frozen ground below.

Blood flowed from Teresa's mouth, the light in her eyes slowly beginning to fade as began to feel the world slipping from her. This was simply unreal. How could she have summoned for this amount of power? She didn't possess it before, that much she was sure as yoki sensing was something she excelled at.

Being lifted by the collar of her tattered dress, Teresa looked into Luciela's now silver eyes. She could see clearly now that she at this very moment possessed even more yoki then even Priscilla and could not even catch a flow. However, her faded eyes caught the glimpse of a glowing orb in her other hand that seemed disproportional as it was as large the one she made in her awakened form.

"I warned you... As with the techniques I've learned from him, I'm now the most powerful Awakened Being in the land. You never had a chance." Luciela stated, ready to use the yoki Rasengan to finish this once and for all.

She almost wanted to begin to laugh as she let her sword drop. This was how it was going to end for her. She wasn't even fighting for Clare's sake... She was fighting for some guy that held the promise to take them to a different land so they could get away from the organization and yoma of this land. And what irony was that this awakened before her was going to use a technique of his to finish her.

Blood splattered on her face and she was suddenly dropped as a black and red blur flashed between and separated them. The blood came from Luciela's stumped arms as they fell to the ground but who could have... Teresa smirked as she saw Naruto standing with his back turned, holding her own claymore in his hand.

This time, Teresa began to laugh. But it was cut short as she suddenly found it lodged into her right leg, slicing through the femur and causing her to scream out in pain as she was no where near to being recovered.

But as both gazed at the one that had injured them, Luciela and Teresa became very, very concerned. Naruto was so far beyond pissed that the word for it couldn't even be fathomed.

"What... WHAT IN THE FUCKING HELL IS GOING ON HERE? Explain now or the wounds you both have now will become much more severe until I get my answer!" Naruto screamed out, his chakra dancing around him as he did not like what he woke up to and he was going to get straight to the bottom of it.

Teresa was too stunned to say anything as she couldn't even fathom them his response. Luciela on the other hand had a single thought going through her mind that could be summed up in two words. Oh shit.

Becoming further irritated as both stayed perfectly quiet, Naruto's chakra began to dance around him madly and he moved to advance onto them. He was abruptly stopped as Clare ran forward, in-between him and Teresa as if to protect her. Seeing this, Naruto calmed to an extent and took a deep breath. "I need an explanation here... Why in the hell were you two fighting? Does anyone know here?"

Seeing that neither Luciela nor Teresa was talking, not to mention that Naruto was still seething and nearly foaming at the mouth, Irene stepped forward attentively and decided to answer on Teresa's half. "Teresa has been training these last few years in an attempt to strength herself to the point that she could defeat Luciela and bring you with us."

Finally getting an answer, Naruto's flaring temper began to dampen but it was far from being extinguished. However, at least with that he knew one side of the story as he turned to Teresa. "Is that true?"

Only nodding as she wasn't sure how else to respond, not wanting to piss off the one that held all of their lives in the palms of his hands even further. Seeing this, Naruto's anger was slowly turning to irritation as he began to rub his temple. "Alright... That explains your half. Luciela."

Seeing that he was turning to her as she was attaching her arms, not feeling as in much danger as she was in before, Luciela sighed and shook her head. "I was challenge and I couldn't simply hand you over to her... As I wasn't sure if you would come back to me... I didn't want to lose my last treasure."

Not being surprised, as Luciela seemed to consider everything a possession, Naruto simply closed his eyes. In the very next second, a small rock hit both Luciela and Teresa between the eyes, knocking them back from their position. "You two are idiots. ...Luciela, didn't I tell you to ask for the name of a warrior before fighting them?"

Being suddenly caught off guard by his sudden question, it took a moment for Luciela to register it before nodding. "Yes, I remember that. I just forgot as it wasn't too longer you began running away from me... What is this about?"

Sighing as he looked up into the cloudy sky, Naruto returned to his normal state. "I've been thinking a lot of recently... It has been a little longer then two years since I've been here and I've accepted that I could be here forever... But as of recently, things have been looking up and it could be possible for me to leave. But then I realized... Even if I return home, my war still rages."

Continuing to look into the sky, ignoring the looks he was receiving from all there, Naruto continued on. "I love the land and all the people in it... But things must change otherwise we'll keep repeating the same mistakes over and over, becoming a pointless cycle of unending hatred and bloodshed. In order to do this, Konan and I reformed the Akatsuki to bring forth this Red Dawn... But just as we began our war, I suddenly find myself here."

"While I have faith in Konan's abilities, she can only do so much and I doubt she could survive in a fight against the five Kages as I could. I know the war will turn soon without me there and even when I arrive there wouldn't be much I could do on my own... That's when I began to think... What if I brought forth a small army of well trained warriors that match the skills of even the best ninja in my land?" Naruto finally stated as he looked down towards at Teresa before his gaze turned to Luciela.

Luciela was shocked at first from what she heard. But that slowly began to boil into anger and her body began to shake as she moved towards him. "You... You've planned this from the beginning?"

"No actually... This all really started after my fight with Dauf. You kicking me out simply helped kick start my recruiting campaign of both warriors and awakens alike. Unfortunately it seemed that I couldn't exactly win over Isley and Priscilla to join forces with us..." Naruto responded, fearing some sort of retaliation from the Demon of the South.

And she seemed ready to reach out and strangle, becoming further infuriated at his choice of words. The problem was her arms weren't properly attached so her hands couldn't really grip his throat. "You son of a..."

"Luciela... I am sorry for everything I put you through these last couple of weeks." Naruto quietly, looking ashamed as his eyes looked at her feet as he couldn't find the strength to look her in the eyes. "I've been a fool and while I know my apology isn't enough to make it up for you, I'll try to treat you better then I have. ...After all, I might not be able to leave these lands after all and I don't want to sever the relationship I've built with you."

Looking at him for a moment, still very upset with him, Luciela kept her face stoic as she didn't want to let him know what she was thinking, not that he was even looking at her face. She was still mad, but she was beginning to see what was going on in his head and why he was doing the things he was. She still didn't like it in the least, but there at least was a reason, a pretty damn good one, behind it.

Suddenly knocking him upside the head in a rather clumsy fashion as her arm wasn't completely reattached yet, Luciela only sighed as she let her arms hang at her side. "You fool... All I wanted all along was an apology and an explanation. Was it really that hard to say?"

Naruto simply nodded before he realized that the others were still there. Turning to see them, he was relatively surprised to see that they were neither shocked by the affection shown by either towards one another nor what he had talked about just earlier. In fact, Teresa spoke rather quickly now that he had brought his attention back to them.

"So I take it that your world isn't exactly at peace either?" Receiving a nod from the only guy there, Teresa sighed for a moment before shaking her head. "Well... Shit, it may not exactly be perfect but it still sounds better then it is here. ...But despite being here two years, you have found no leads..."

"Actually... I have. I have Isley to thank for that." Naruto grinned as he remembered what Isley had said before he had let him go. "However, the problem lies in that... The organization is the only one that knows how to leave this rock. So in order to do so..."

"We have to go through the organization." Irene finished, not liking that idea in the slightest. It wasn't helping that it seemed that Teresa had suddenly shifted her opinion of Luciela, despite seeing the very human like feelings she possessed. "Not to be a downer, but that is impossible for us warriors. The organization is well prepared for a warrior attack against them as no matter what, number ten stays at their base."

"Oh... That could cause problems." Teresa grimaced, knowing exactly what Irene was eluding to there. "The number ten is exclusively meant to stop a warrior uprising as her abilities not only hinder our vision, hearing, etc... But they also dive into our mind and confuse us, sometimes being able to make us see things that aren't really there."

"Ahem." Luciela faked a cough to bring the attention back to her, which in turn made Naruto place his cloak over her as she was nude. "Aren't you forgetting something? I'm no longer a warrior. I'm an Awakened and her powers are absolutely useless against me. You also forget that Naruto isn't even a claymore and if she was somehow to affect him because of his yoki... Well he could just use it and then they would be in trouble."

As both Naruto and Teresa nodded in unison, that being true, Irene twitched madly at the sudden turn of events. "Okay, what the hell is going on here? Only minutes ago you were at each others throats and now you're planning an assault on the organization? Does anyone else here think this is all maddening? She's an Awakened? She eats humans, whom we were sworn to protect!"

"Irene, will you calm down?" Teresa asked as she could tell her partner was rather worked up and she was just about to explode. "I would have agreed with you earlier this week, but now after fighting her... I don't know how to say it. It was as if I got to know her and there just seemed to be something very human about her now and I don't feel as threatened. I still don't trust her, but I have a higher opinion now."

"Furthermore, I doubt we would just suddenly raid the organization at this moment. First of all, we'd leave Clare completely unguarded and I won't allow such a thing. Secondly, he said we would need a small army so we would have to have done some recruiting and training. Finally... I'm sick and tired of living on this rock, having all the people fear us just because we accepted yoma flesh into our bodies to protect them!" Teresa stated her case firmly to Irene.

Irene was simply floored. She wasn't even sure how to think through a response like Teresa's. Sure, all of her arguments were valid and to be honest, there was something very different about Luciela compared to any awakened being she ever met before. But looking down and at the young girl at Teresa's side listening to them, Irene finally spoke. "Clare, what do you have to say about any of this?"

Everyone stopped as they hadn't expected Clare to be dragged into the conversation. They were ignoring her despite knowing she probably understood everything they spoke of. It wasn't as if they were doing it on purpose, but it was a conversation not meant for her to be involved in despite having a critical role.

But despite everyone's gaze, Clare only shrugged as she looked directly as Teresa and smiled. "I don't mind... I'm already happy as long as I'm with you. I don't care if we're here, there or anywhere else. ...I'm happy."

Hearing her response, there wasn't much more Irene could say. If Clare was fine with all of this, even joining with an awakened being, there was simply nothing she could say. She wouldn't enjoy it that much, but there were a few bright sides...

"Are you sure? You do realize what we are talking about? Living with Luciela and I will be a rather drastic change then living with just Teresa and Irene." Naruto suddenly asked, kneeling down before her to look her into the eyes as she was much shorter, ignoring the glare he was getting from Luciela.

Clare nodded. While she wasn't sure of everything, she knew the consequences from listening to them speak. "I know... I'll try my best not to get in way and keep up."

Making sure she knew as he looked her in the eyes, Naruto could only nod and was ready to stand back up when Teresa suddenly spoke up. "Would it be alright for you to train her up until we get off this rock or failing trying?"

"I was already planning on it... Clare's different from mostly everyone here. She possesses chakra and that means I can train her." Naruto stated as he gave Clare a smile before gazing over Teresa, seeing that she was pleased with his response. "Of course, that is if she wants to be trained?"

There really wasn't much of a shock from Clare's answer as the girl just rapidly nodded her head. Naruto only rolled his eyes and bit his lip to keep from chuckling as he stood up.

Sighing, he looked over at Luciela to see she had a light smile on her face as well. It was something that made him only feel better about all of this. Luciela... She had found her human heart again. "Let's go home. I'm rather tired and I doubt Isley wants us on his land any longer.

Luciela only nodded before she led the way with Naruto at her side. In the end... That was all she really wanted.

Now all that was left was to find her sister.

* * *

"Konan... I'm sorry, note even Zetsu can find him." A lone figure with bubble gum pink hair stood before the origami princess as she sat in her office, overlooking the Rain Village. "To make matters worse our troop's moral is dropping. It will only be a matter of time before they start to loose hope as we've lost our leader."

Sighing as she heard this, knowing that his presence was the very thing that made everyone believe they could actually succeed in their endeavor; Konan closed her eyes and shook her head. "For now, we must act without him then as he is not on this continent. However, we cannot stop searching as we need him if we wish to be victorious."

"Not on this continent... How is that possible? The last time he was seen was when he was making his way to Konoha from here to gather more troops." A new figure with crimson colored hair stated, having listened to what had been said from outside.

Opening her eyes, Konan looked utterly tired as this war had been far harsher on her then she would have liked it. This wasn't supposed to be here position... She was supposed to be standing besides him as he guided their troops to victory. "All that I can think of is a summoning... Someone in a distant land must have tried to summon the fox for its power."

"If that's the case, why don't we do the same? I'm sure the three of use have enough strength to accomplish such a feat." The pink haired one commented, looking over at Konan with worry as she could tell that she seemed ready to break.

Konan only shook her head and closed her eyes. "I've already tried that... The amount of power isn't a factor as I know alone I have enough. But the seal that it requires it so bizarre that I find it difficult for anyone other then for the deceased Yondaime Hokage, Jiraiya and Naruto to understand such designs. ...The only choice we have left is for you two to search the other continents and look for him while I hold down the fort here."

"Gaara, Sakura... Can I trust you to do this...? For the Red Dawn?"

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, sorry for the late update. Not much that I can say but even now it just doesn't seem to flow just right. I might have to come back and work on it later to fill some plot holes (the fact that I call myself on it near the end doesn't help), but this is the best I can manage at the moment. The good point is that I still feel it is okay enough to release so, yeah for you!

The next couple of chapters shouldn't be difficult, but as of now my focus is changing my plans for the story. ...Well, not actually changing them, but the fact that I think that my notes for this story alone could actually be a story makes things a little difficult. So let's just say I'm shortening this story with some cuts and combining a lot of chapters that just seem to short on their own, like this one. This was originally two chapters in my notes.

The fight scene, however, I am very happy with. It actually went very well; unlike the first time I tried to have these two fight. As for why Luciela was holding back the first time they met, she was trying to save some of her strength to drag Naruto back and her mind wasn't clear at the exact moment.

For Teresa knowing the Rasengan and using the Body Flicker after seeing it be used... I actually kind of see her yoki sensing as to be very similar to the Sharingan in its precognition. Now add on that Teresa, who I believe is a genius in battle and is able to see how things work, is able to learn something she sees very quickly. It, however, takes some time to master.

Also, I am very unhappy with the latest chapter of Claymore (107). Not to spoil it any of those that haven't read it, but that is where I got the idea of the number 10 Claymore. Because of this last chapter, however, you might be seeing another Naruto/Claymore story I've been working on called Chiseled Hearts as a tribute to _her_. On the plus side I actually like where Naruto is going so I can actually say Kishi's doing a rather good job.

Now as I always do here at the end... Ah, just leave a review if you've got a question I didn't answer or feel like giving me a confidence boost. Peace Out.


	11. The End of a Dream, The Red Dawn Anew

**A/N**: This is more of a warning, this chapter is a flashback to explain a few things and hopefully some of the questions you might have had. The next one to two chapters(not entirely sure if it will be one or two yet) will be as well. So enjoy, The End of a Dream, The Red Dawn Anew.

* * *

_His entire body felt numb. He had to use every ounce of power he possessed but it was worth it. This man... No, this monster had brought this upon himself as soon as he decided to endanger those he cared for the most._

_Looking down at the corpse before, he almost felt like he would start laughing. This war was finally over and despite what E and the other Kages thought, he was needed on the battle field. Sure, he had disobeyed his orders but he didn't give a damn. He knew this had to be done._

_"Uzumaki..." The voice came from the corpse, catching Naruto entirely off guard. "You have won... But remember, you will never know peace as this world is too chaotic. As long as the ninja nations stand, there will always be conflict. I wanted... So badly to change that. To give everyone... True Peace."_

_Wiping a small amount of blood from his lips, regaining his composure, Naruto took a step closer to the fallen Uchiha. "You have too little faith in us. It may take time, but one day everyone will understand one another and then, peace will finally reign. It may take a thousand years, but it will come."_

_Madara simply began to laugh at Naruto's response, which in turn made the blonde teenager frown and step even closer, preparing himself for the worse. Without warning, Madara turned and looked Naruto straight into the eyes, his Sharingan tomoe forming something new entirely. "Maybe so, but there will be no peace for you! My legacy will not die!"_

_"Tsukiyomi!"_

Red chakra began to coat his trembling body, expanding into a fox like shape with a single tail forming at the base of his tailbone. A violent scream ripped through his throat as the pain of those memories began to overwhelm him and his body began writhing in utter agony.

Sweat drenched his entire body as Naruto grabbed his head, despite still being coat in his dream, the pain being so great that his body naturally reacted in the only way it could. His screams began to rise in pitch as his body rattled uncontrollably. Blood began to pour from his mouth as he bit down onto his tongue, attempting to quail his own screams.

In the very next moment, the door to his room busted down and his pink hair medic rushed into his room to see what was happening. Sakura was indeed disturbed at the seen, but she had seen in before and immediately knew what she had to do as she slipped out a demonic suppression seal.

But as she neared him, she was knocked back by a surge of yoki as Naruto jumped to his three tailed state. Getting back onto her feet, Sakura fought through the increased ferocity of the fox's yoki and made it to her teammate, slapping the seal onto his forehead. The reaction was immediate and its chakra began to recede, but her work was far from done.

Straddling his waist in order to keep him under control, her hands began to glow a slimy silver, almost as if she stuck her hands into liquid mercury, and placed them onto Naruto's temples. Closing her eyes in concentration, ignoring the fact that Naruto's movement nearly knocked her off of him, she held his head still as the silver chakra began to seep into his skull.

This time the reaction wasn't as immediate, but it could be seen that Naruto's convulsions were slowly beginning to decrease and it seemed as if his pain began to dull. But nonetheless, Naruto was still squirming enough that Sakura to use her immense physical strength just to stay on top and to keep her hands on his temples. And even then it was extraordinarily difficult as Naruto was very powerful especially with Kyuubi's presence still within his system.

After a few minutes, Naruto had finally stopped trembling and his eyes glance up at the worn down Sakura, her body now coated in her own sweat. Panting heavily, the pain still fresh on his mind, he barely had enough time to let out a surprised "UMPH!" as his pink haired teammate collapsed onto him.

Only groaning slightly, he looked into the tuff of pink hair as Sakura was too tired to even look into his face, not that he could blame her. "How bad was it this time?"

"Extremely horrible... You jumped to three tails and your screaming was so loud I don't think anyone in Konoha didn't hear it. Not only that, I had to concentrate on both calming you down and keeping myself from being thrown off... So I'm dead tired." Sakura answered, finally moving her head so their eyes met.

Cursing, not thinking it would get that bad again; Naruto wasn't sure what to do. While both Sakura and Shizune were good medics, they simply could not heal the damage that was caused. That was something only Tsunade could do and she was still hospitalized, in a deep coma after Pein had assaulted their village.

"Shit... If this keeps up, I'm not sure how long it will be before that asshole Hokage we have will try something." Naruto growled and tightened his fists, despite being even further drained then Sakura as the dream along with Kyuubi's yoki had taken a lot out of him.

Sakura could only nod into his chest and attempted to raise herself from Naruto's body, only to fail horribly. Groaning, she simply shook her head as she wasn't moving any time soon. "Shizune and I have been doing our best, but right now I don't know how much longer we can keep him from interfering... I wish Lady Tsunade was awake... Everything would be fine if she was here."

Naruto only nodded in agreement as he was thinking the same. If the old hag was awake, she for one could have healed the damage the fallen Uchiha had done. But even more importantly their government wouldn't be as oppressive as their Hokage, while always a dictator in the sense, was a tyrant who had to rule everything with a tight fist and eliminated or slandered those who contested his power.

Deciding to lighten the mood a bit as it was getting rather depressing, Naruto grinned as he looked at the girl that was still straddling him. "So are you going to stay like that all night? I know we're friends and all, but isn't this going a little too far? People might think we've slept together if they find us like this."

Groaning soon after he said that as Sakura punched him in the side of his gut, Sakura rolled off of him and laid next to him, almost growling at him as her emerald eyes glared into his. "I don't have the energy to get back to my cot. I'm sleeping with you tonight, got it? So no funny business or you will end up missing a pair of jewels."

Mocking fear, something he wasn't very good at, Naruto nodded. "Oh I assure you my fine young lady, I won't do anything. I don't have the energy to anyways..."

"Damn right you don't..." Sakura stated as her eyes slowly began to fade, falling asleep feeling just somewhat disappointed.

* * *

"NARUTO! SAKURA!" A shrill scream awoke the two, making them both bolt upwards, hair standing on their necks as they knew they were in a rather compromising position thanks to last night.

Thankfully, at least in their minds, the person that had discovered them really didn't care about that at the moment as there was a far more urgent matter at hand. Being the first to recognize who it was, Sakura immediately stood up, worry beginning to set in. "Shizune? What's going on? ...Don't tell me the bastard is coming after Naruto?"

"WORSE!" Shizune screamed, being unable to control the volume of her voice and the dread she was feeling. "He... He's decided... HE'S PULLED THE PLUG ON LADY TSUNADE! SHE'S GONE!"

It was as if the world stopped spinning for Naruto and Sakura. Danzo had given the order to... end Tsunade's life?

"No... It can't be! We are the only ones that have the power to make that decision! He had no right!" Naruto yelled out, standing straight up, rage beginning to build and he could feel the overwhelming urge to pull forth Kyuubi's yoki while he could hear the fox's urging him to release him, promising him no pain as he did two years prior.

Being the calmest, which wasn't saying very much as rage and sorrow were beginning to engulf her being, Sakura slowly stammered as she looked over at her good friend and fellow teacher. "Shizune... What happened?"

Still panicking as she was unsure what to do, Shizune began to sob as she fell to her knees. "I was checking on Lady Tsunade this morning. She seemed better then she had been since being in a coma and I felt rather good. But then he suddenly burst in with his own doctor and had him give a false diagnosis. I tried to tell him otherwise but his Anbu restrained me and then... then..."

Shizune was unable to finish as her grief of watching her master and partner for so many years life was taken before her and she was able to do nothing about it. Her tears ran down her cheeks like a stream as her entire body tremble and began to hiccup, the stress being too much for her.

Sakura was no better as she embraced the sullen nurse and began weep along side her, being unable to hold back her emotions any longer. To think that their master would be taken from them like that was... Was just unacceptable. She didn't even have a chance.

However, despite how badly the two of them were reacting, Naruto's reaction was far harsher. He had fallen onto his knees, tears dripping from his eyes as well. But the sadness he felt paled in comparison to his rage. His entire body shook, just as it did last night but this time there was something different. "This can't be... He had no right! That bastard took us out of the equation!"

Chakra began to dance around him; his muscle began to bulge as the power his anger was summoning began to flow through him like a tornado. His eyes began to alternate between blue, crimson and gold while the tears that were pouring form them moments before began to dry on his cheeks and his eyes finally found one color, sticking to gold. However, the problem was his pupil was a mix between its sage appearance and its dilated form when Kyuubi's yoki filled his being.

Slowly standing back onto his feet, both Sakura and Shizune's attention turned to him as they felt the absurd chakra release from the blonde. But before they could say a word Naruto simply glance at there direction and said one word. "Stay."

Both girls were afraid as their tears streamed down but Naruto cared not. He would deal with them later. He had to deal with this first.

* * *

Sitting in his office, dealing with a very light load of paperwork, Danzo was feeling rather good today and he knew it was going to get better. He was also very glad that he cut down the meaningless paperwork that was sent his way by having a few people scan through them before and burning anything that was useless.

He had eliminated a threat to his power in Tsunade as if she recovered she would have taken back her title soon as she was healthy enough to do so. Also the information he gathered about the Rain definitely aided his plans, making him feel all the better as it wouldn't be too long as he brought Konoha back to its former glory as the most powerful village in the land.

However, he also knew there would be some trouble today for the actions he had taken against Tsunade. He should had dealt with Shizune when he had put the fifth down and should have imprisoned her so the information on how the Slug Sannin was put down would be publicized. But there was someone she would tell before anyone else... And he wanted him to know.

Just on cue, the entire tower shook. At first Danzo was rather alarmed, thinking that Tsunade might had survived and was now coming after him, a nightmare scenario he had been battling with as he was deciding whether or not to put her down. But as the cause of the shake began to become clearer, he felt a little better.

His plan was coming to fruition and the blonde was playing into his hand just as the door to his office shattered into pieces. "Too predictable... Such a naive young man you are, Uzumaki."

To his surprised, all of his guard Anbu, AKA his Root, were thrown into his office. Each and every one had been battered, wounded and mauled and there be no chance of them returning to action any time soon, something he actually was hoping for as this could get messy. Then it became worse as Naruto entered the room.

'Oh Shit!' was one of the first things that crossed Danzo's mind as he would be alone in this endeavor and it didn't help that he caught the color and shape of his opponents eyes. Naruto use sage chakra was hard enough to handle, but when he was using purified Kyuubi yoki he was an unstoppable force.

Still Danzo kept his calm, calculated look as he gazed straight into Naruto's eyes. "I see you have heard the news... But I think you are overreacting my dear boy. My Anbu had nothing to do with this and didn't deserve such treatment. I think one or two of them actually have families."

"They were in my way." Naruto simply responded, the mere sound of his voice would had made almost any person tremble with fear as the power he was displaying along with his words added onto the experience.

Danzo, however, feared no one and easily took it in stride as he stayed calmly seated at his desk, gazing at the enraged blonde. "Fair enough. Let's get down to why you are here? Do you actually plan on attacking me? You know what would happen if you do."

"I don't give a damn! You had no right, none at all!" Naruto growled as he rushed the desk, his fist going straight through it as Danzo, on pure instinct, flip it into his trajectory and evaded to the right side of the room.

Leaning against the wall, showing he had no concern over the blonde's abilities, Danzo only shook his head. "I had every right as Hokage. Remember, my word is law and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it. If want something done, it is done. I could have just of easily revealed your secret to the younger generation."

This time Danzo barely was able to avoid Naruto's next attack, his speed nearly doubled from what it was before as his fist pierced the wall and he made it to the other side of the room, still acting nonchalant. "She had no chance of recovering, no matter what Shizune had said. The stress of the technique she used to save the villagers almost obliterated her mind to the point not even a Yamanaka could save her. What I did was grant her mercy."

"No!" Naruto yelled out, the chakra around him beginning to build even higher and started to worry Danzo as the boy seemed far more powerful then the information he had on him. "What you did was take away the right for family and friends to decide what was best for her! What you did... What you did was rob her of a chance of living! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT, _HOKAGE_!"

Before Danzo even had a chance of dodging, Naruto's speed dramatically increased to the point he could no longer see him. The very next moment he found himself flying through the windows of his office and free falling to the ground below.

Crashing as he had no chance to recover as he was stunned, a few droplets of blood leaked from the corner of his lips. He picked himself out of the small crater he had created only to hear a thud directly behind him. He didn't have to look to know who it was and his reaction was to replace himself to get out of the way but there just wasn't enough time.

Skidding across the paved road, leaving a mark through the road as he did, Naruto looked over at Danzo before slowly making his way to the downed Hokage. Everyone that could see what was happening immediately got out of the way, not sure why the present Hokage was dueling with their savior from Pein and Madara, but knew this was something they did not want to get involved with.

"You... All you care for is the power that comes from your position." Naruto stated, moving closer to the Hokage as he lifted himself from the dirt to face him, his Sharingan eye to show to everyone. "You don't give a damn about the people and what your actions could mean to them. Even if you do love this village, your actions say otherwise! Now let's fight, _Hokage_ and I will show you what it means to cross the wrong person!"

As soon as the last word rolled of his tongue, Danzo had let loose a Grand Fireball like none other Naruto had ever seen. It was the street width and anyone nearby and hadn't moved out of the way was being burned almost instantly. Growling as he saw this while the flames approached him, he flicked the flames upward with a single motion of his hand and glared directly into Danzo's two eyes as it burned out above him, painting everything below in red and orange light.

Danzo, while stunned at what he had just witnessed, followed up with a series of hand seals, the bandages on his arm hiding a prosthetic he seemed to possess. This time the earth surrounded Naruto in a dome fashion and dozen of earth spikes pierced into his flesh... Or that was what he wanted to say.

The tip of every single spike shattered against his skin, doing nothing more then leaving a scratch. Danzo was left speechless, not even sure how Naruto had such resistance as that attack would have at least wounded Jiraiya in his sage form if he let it hit him. But somehow... He was unscathed.

What was this boy? Was he even human or had the fox passed on its strength to him? To add onto his horror, the words that came from Naruto next sent chills down his spine as he began to believe he bit off more then he could chew.

"Is that all?"

In that very moment, what remained of his Root launched an attack from both sides of Naruto to help their Hokage. He was prepared for such and assault as he lifted both of his arms towards them and two orbs of ridiculous proportions formed in his hands and exploded on contact with the remaining Anbu members, catapulting them into and through the buildings they were next to.

It was in that moment Danzo knew he would have to use the dream in order to stand a chance. Everything Sai had reported on him seemed just to general and he greatly underrated the blonde's physical powers and skills. He would have to _speak_ with the young man after this was over.

Soon as he noticed Danzo beginning to unlatch his prosthetic arm, Naruto knew to act as he more then likely had a certain attack he could use with only that arm, especially noticing the Sharingan implanted in his supposed missing eye. Appearing him as he did so, he kicked him in the sternum and lifted him into the air before smacking Danzo on the temple with a vicious back hand.

Watching him crater into the wall, Naruto gave him absolutely no time to get up. He drove his left forearm into his throat and began to press tightly. This was going to end here and he would make sure he suffocated as his other arm grabbed his prosthetic arm and with a single pull, ripped it clean off.

Looking him directly in the eyes, seeing the light within them slowly beginning to die, a strange satisfaction began to fill him. And as it did, Naruto was disgusted and with that he freed Danzo from his grasp and gazed down at him. "I'll grant you life this time, you insect. But know this, everyone will know what you did."

"Kakashi!" Naruto suddenly stated, feeling his sensei along with many other jounin that had arrived in the area to see what had happened, "Take me to the prison. I've broken the law and as such, I will serve my punishment. Kurenai, can I ask you to go get Sakura and Shizune from my apartment... I believe they still are in tears."

Unsure how to really respond, never having anyone willingly give up and want to be taken to jail, Kakashi only nodded as he looked at the scene numbly. Kurenai did as Naruto asked and disappeared, heading straight to his apartment leaving Kakashi to lead Naruto. But something disturbed him about this entire thing.

What caused Naruto to snap like this?

* * *

"Sai!" Danzo growled as he now was safely back in their Root headquarters, having his arm reattached. "What is the meaning of this? How could you not tell me the boy had grown that strong? He could jeopardize everything now not to mention that he nearly killed me before I could release my ultimate technique!"

Staying quiet as his commander yelled at him, Sai waited knelt down before him for a moment before he finally spoke. "I did not know the full extent of his power. I only knew what I saw from him as he kept most of his training from everyone except for Sakura and Kakashi. Yamato and I only knew the bare basics outside from what he showed."

"That is a lie! I know your abilities better then that and I told you to find out, you would!" Danzo yelled out at him, both from his anger and the pain that the reattachment of the arm was causing. Attaching his nerves to the prosthetic was absolutely brutal.

Keeping his calm as he didn't even fidget, Sai simply responded. "I had to keep some of the information I learned hidden to keep his trust. He knew of my connection with you and if I were to give everything I found out I wouldn't be able to keep gathering information. But I still remain adamant I did not know of his full strength and abilities."

Narrowing his eyes as he bit his lip, the war hawk gazed at the painting ninja. He knew damn well that Sai was lying, but that shouldn't be possible as the seal should keep him from doing so. So that left him in a conundrum as he wasn't sure if he could trust him any longer but he was one of his few Root that was still active after Naruto's rampage.

To make matters worse, the agent he sent to the Rain appeared before him, kneeling besides Sai with his head bowed. "Lord Danzo, not only is she a former member it also seems she is indeed the one that survive your attempt to squash the uprising in the Rain years back with Hanzo. If word of this gets out..."

"I know what it means!" Danzo stated, growling as he wasn't in the greatest moods already with everything that had transpired. "Prepare an assassination team and have it leave under the cover of darkness. If you fail to kill her, you know what you have to do."

Simply nodding and leaving just as he appeared, Sai narrowed his eyes hearing what Danzo had just stayed. "My lord, do your realize what you are doing? The Rain is now an ally and a very useful one thanks to their location."

"Do not question me, Sai!" Danzo yelled out at his subordinate. "You are dismissed and if you fail me again, I will put an end to you myself."

Standing from his knelt position, Sai nodded and turn his back to leave. But just as he was about to leave, he stopped and turn back to Danzo with a fierce look in his eyes. "I will warn you, _Lord Danzo_. You are making a mistake. If you cross Naruto again and he learns of it, you will die. Of that, I am sure."

With that, Sai flickered away not fearing any retaliation. He had chosen his side.

* * *

"Naruto..." Sakura's voice came as he sat on the cold, hard ground in the cell he was in and the doors opened and shut.

She was very disturbed as she looked downed at Naruto as he didn't even move from his spot. He simply stated seated, his arms wrapped around his legs while he laid his head on his knees, his eyes lifelessly gazing at the floor. She would have called it the fetal position but something told her that even in that position, Naruto was anything but defenseless.

Grimacing as there was no response, she turned to the guard and motioned for him to leave so she could get some privacy. Turning back to Naruto as he left, she knelt down and onto her knees before she wrapped her arms around and embraced him. "Naruto... Don't do this to yourself. I'm here to help and everyone is worried about you."

Not even reacting to her touch, Naruto's didn't even advert his gaze despite her warm embrace. "I tried to kill Danzo."

Wincing at his emotionless tone and the lack of any reaction, Sakura held him even closer to her as she laid her head on top of his. "I heard... I wanted to do the same... We should have done it together that way you wouldn't be locked in here."

"I put myself in here, Sakura... I would have killed him. But... But..." Naruto mumbled lightly, his body trembling at Sakura's touch.

Surprised as she had not heard that, Kurenai barely having skimmed over what happened from what she found out and had told them Naruto was in jail, Sakura raised her head and looked at Naruto, worried as something else was bothering Naruto outside of Tsunade's passing. "But what? What happened?"

Trembling, almost beginning to convulse, Naruto took a few deep breathes and calmed himself before finally looking up and into Sakura's emeralds. "I began to enjoy his suffering as I felt him beginning to pass on. ...It sickened me. I felt as I had become like Orochimaru."

Hearing what he had said, her eyes widened and her body stiffened. That was something she had not expected Naruto to have said. Her face dropped, her hair covering her eyes before she shook her head and softly spoke. "I... I have to admit... I would have enjoyed it. ...Outside of you, Lady Tsunade is everything to me. And he took her from me..."

"Sakura!" Naruto sternly responded, his gaze hardening as he looked at the tuff of hair that was blocking her eyes. "Killing is something that should never be enjoyed, you know that! I don't want you to ever, _ever_ say that again imouto!"

Flinching at his reaction, she continued to gaze downward as her dropped even further. She hated when he called her that. She wanted to be seen as something more to prove that she wasn't hung over Sasuke any longer but he just couldn't see her like that any longer. And that hurt even if it paled to the pain she had already endured today.

And it all had become even worse after what she had learned only moments before arriving here. "Naruto... There is something I have to say. ...Something that you won't want to here, but I am the only one that can tell you. ...There was just a meeting between the jounin. A meeting about your future as Hokage."

"They've decided that I can't become the Seventh, haven't they?" Naruto stated more then he asked having felt this would happen as he waited within this cell.

Only nodding, not sure how Naruto was going to respond and was worried it might be very much like it was last night, Sakura was prepared to calm him down as she held him tightly. "Kakashi and I did everything we could along with the rest of our friends, but we couldn't persuade enough despite them understanding what happened to Tsunade. The only thing we managed was to get out of them was an investigation of Danzo's activities to see if he should be impeached."

The reaction she got was not the one she suspected. Naruto began to laugh. The hair on her neck stood on ends as this wasn't how she figured him to react but now here he was laughing and it was no normal laugh. It was a mixture of despair and sorrow, a laugh of someone that was ready to break. "It figures! ...Now I'm beginning to see Madara meant now."

Becoming further worried as Naruto almost never mentioned that name other then when she or Shizune forced him to speak of his nightmares, Sakura reached one hand back and into her pouch, preparing for the worse as this could end badly. But as she did, Naruto lowered his head and sighed. "Put it away... I'm still me... I just don't know what to do any more. Everything is being taken from me and there isn't a damn thing I can do."

Placing both her hands onto his shoulders, making him look at her, Sakura smiled at him despite the tears beginning to build in her eyes. "No matter what you do... I'll be there with you. I will follow you and stand at your side even if you were to leave this village. ...I don't want to lose you like Sasuke."

Naruto found it difficult to continue looking at Sakura. He knew that what she said was true, but it was painful to hear as he still knew she loved Sasuke, maybe not as much but she felt the same nonetheless. But to even think that he would walk out on this village... His home. He found it difficult even with a dictator like Danzo ruling his life.

Sighing and moving Sakura's hands from him, Naruto averted his gaze from her and closed his eyes. "I'm just too confused about everything right now... I need time to think alone. ...Whose there?"

Seeing Naruto suddenly tense and prepare for the worse, Sakura turned and was ready to fight when a familiar figure stepped forward, three guards slumping to the ground behind him. "Sai? What have you...?"

"Sorry for the sudden intrusion... But I need your help Naruto as you are the only one that I can trust." Sai responded before he flicked a single photo towards Naruto, letting Naruto know what this was about as he could not tell him thanks to Danzo's seal.

With one look at the picture, Naruto's eyes narrowed. This... this would complicate things. And now... He wasn't sure if he could stay faithful to his village if she would be involved.

Taking a kunai from Sakura's pouch, as his things were confiscated, as he kind of threw them at Kakashi, he drew blood from his palm before he looked at Sakura. "A vial, please. I cannot leave here otherwise it will be suspicious. Summon Gamakichi and have him tell her that she is danger. Only you can do this as they trust you."

Doing as Naruto asked, filling a vial with his blood, Sakura wiped away her tears as she knew this was important. She had only got a glimpse of the picture before Naruto hid it, she knew who it was. "Leave it to me and Sai... We'll try to keep you informed while you're in here."

Watching Sakura leave with Sai, Naruto sat back onto the cold floor of his cell and dropped his head. "Was this what you mean, Madara? Will I never know peace?"

* * *

The next morning, Naruto was awoken by the door of his cell opening and the last person he wanted to see entering his cell. It was as if he was gloating, even though he shouldn't be as he had kicked his ass and willing came here. What was he? A masochist? "What is it that you want, _Hokage_?"

Having expected such hostility, knowing that he would never see eye to eye with him, Danzo simply gazed at Naruto as he stayed on his cell's bed. "I know we will never get along and I accept that... But as much as I hate to say this, I very much need your support. You are the savior of this village, something I cannot ever be."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. You had the woman that was practically a mother to me killed, so I would state your case quickly as your presence sickens me and I can only hold myself back for so long." Naruto retorted, not bothering to even glance at Danzo.

Irritated that the boy would be difficult to reason with, something he knew coming in, Danzo took a deep breath before throwing his equipment pouch to him. "I've decided not to charge you with treason. Doing so would only hurt this village more as you are the only reason it still stands and much of the village would be against me if I were to do such a thing now that I'm linked with Tsunade's disappearance."

"Disappearance?" Naruto laughed, finally meeting the Hokage's eyes. "What lies have you been telling? You've killed her."

"Or so I thought." Danzo growled, not liking what had transpired yesterday. "But after our little fight, Tsunade's body disappeared and there is no trace of it. To make matters worse, Shizune is no longer around and a lot of the jounin and the general populace believe that I have something to do with it. As such, I am unable to find her and I need your help."

Raising his eyebrow, Naruto simply waited for Danzo to continue as he was actually interested as there might be benefits for him. "I simply want your loyalty as if you are on my side, the people won't be as restless and a lot of the ninja will be at peace. If you do that for me, I will grant you your dream and name you the seventh Hokage when I'm ready to step down."

Naruto scoffed at Danzo's declaration, not believing he would do such a thing. "Hah, the jounin have already decided that I cannot become Hokage..."

"I can easily overturn that as they are only a third of the decision." Danzo stated before explaining. "The Hokage has the right to name any successor, whether the jounin accept them or not, and that is a third of the equation. The other third is the council and with my influence and your record up until now, I can easily influence them giving you majority rule and therefore, becoming the Hokage."

Listening, Naruto's gaze turned from Danzo as he shook his head. He was being given the chance to achieve his life long dream but in order to do it he would have to obey this man... He wasn't sure he could do that. "I... I don't know. I would need time to think about it along with everything else."

Danzo frown for a moment. He had expected the boy to jump at the chance but when he didn't... It was no matter. He was only asking for time to sort out his mind, something any person would need after the events they had gone through. "I'll give you a day. If you do not make your decision I will put you back in here."

With that, Danzo turned and left as spending more time there would only make him sick. He hated those that let emotions rule their lives. They were so weak.

Watching as he left, Naruto strapped on his pack before exiting the cell, the guard only looking at him for a moment before leading him outside. Soon as he walked out, Naruto's face hardened as he noticed Sai standing, waiting for him as he exited. "What happened...?"

"Not here. People will overhear and I am sure I'm being watched." Sai stated, glancing to where he knew one of his fellow Root was at, having sensed him for a while.

Catching this glance, Naruto simply nodded before they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves. The said Root would have followed, but the second he traced where the flicker had led them, he saw a fist connect to his face.

* * *

"So what's going on? Why isn't Sakura here?" Naruto asked as he leaned against a tree, seeing the bridge he used to meet the rest of his team at in the horizon.

"I can't say... The seal keeps me from doing so. That is why I came here alone as Sakura doesn't know you are released yet... I needed something so I could barter with you." Sai stated, holding out a scroll with a symbol Naruto recognized immediately. It was the kanji for Rain.

Standing straight, Naruto simply gazed at Sai before moving towards him with blinding speed. Knocking the painter onto his knees, Naruto held onto his head before pulling his tongue out with his other hand. "Sai, this is going to hurt more then you think. Just try and not bite your tongue off."

In the very next moment, Sai began to convulse as Naruto traced a counter seal on his tongue before inserting pressure and a mess of chakra into the said appendage. He was attempting to yell but with is tongue being held like it was along with his head being held in place, it was coming out as just some weird muffled growl.

The process, thankfully, only took a moment before Naruto let go. Sai dropped to the ground, gasping and groaning. That was an experience he did not want to ever have to go through again. "God dammit Naruto! Could you have at least warned me? And what if I wanted something else instead?"

"Unlikely. When you said you couldn't say I knew it meant you physically couldn't speak about it as it involved Danzo and anything involving him you cannot speak of. As for warning you... I could have but that was for calling me all those _colorful_ names for these last few years." Naruto responded as he watched Sai writhe a little longer on the ground before finally helping him up to his feet.

Glaring at him for a moment, rather pissed that Naruto actually used that as a reason, Sai took a deep breath. It oddly felt different then before. Maybe it was because the sheer amount of pain the unsealing caused but he doubted that. It felt different because it was his first breath that he had now that he was free.

Smiling, something he didn't do very often, Sai tossed the scroll over to Naruto. "The assassination attempt on her failed. She was easily able to head out and thwart it, using her abilities to their fullest. ...But now she wants to speak with you and will meet you just outside the village tonight. I will take you there as it is a rather secretive point, one you probably don't know of."

Reading over the scroll, seeing that it was indeed her writing, Naruto look over at Sai as it seemed he had a little more to say. "I also have some bad news to inform you... Danzo... He set this entire up. This was all a ploy of his to make you his loyal subject and use you and the fox as a weapon against all that opposed him."

Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as a low growl grew in his throat. He had done all of this... Just to get his hands on him and the fox. It took all of his control not to release Kyuubi's chakra and tame it. "How... Why would he do all of this just for that?"

Wincing, afraid as he knew the damage Naruto could cause him, Sai took a deep breath as he had a feeling Naruto wouldn't like this explanation. "That has always been his plan... Ever since he knew the Kyuubi was sealed into you, as he knew of your birth right the moment you were born, he wanted to take you into Root and turn you into his ultimate weapon... A weapon that would make the world bow down to him as all he cares about is Konoha's power and with you... He would have forced the other nations to surrender unconditionally and take control of the Elemental Nations."

"But to make matters worse... Even without you, he has found a new way he can succeed. He is after her as she is the last person that knows were the other seven are sealed. If he is to find them..." Sai finished, hating the man more and more as he spoke as the idea of creating weapons from demon vessels was... Wrong.

As he listened to Sai's words, Naruto stayed oddly quiet. Even his facial expression didn't show what was going on. But his eyes... An unholy fury burned within them as a deep crimson flashed within, the fox hearing everything as well an attempted to try and spur his vessel on to use its power.

Being able to easily keep the fox in check, Naruto turned and moved to leave. "Sai... I leave it up to you. I will need you to take me to her and get me out of here quietly."

"It will be done."

* * *

Sitting by herself, waiting in the spot she had requested he would meet her, Konan gazed around at her surroundings.

Moss grew over the walls of the cave, covering most of the cave entrance along with a very wide oak tree. Various insects crawled and flew around her. Under normal circumstance she would never entered such a place but... It was better then a tree made of paper as that was rather conspicuous. It also wouldn't help if any Konoha ninja came by and saw that as they were still rather sore about what Nagato had did to their village, despite reviving everyone after he was done.

She smiled sadly at the thought. In just one meeting with him... Nagato seemed to remember what his true goal was. It was never to inflict the same pain onto others in order to make them understand. His goal had and always was to show everyone the way. He had failed in that... But within Naruto, he saw the same spirit... The same hope.

"I finally understand... He was what you couldn't be. He became your hope, didn't he?" Konan asked to a picture she kept of Nagato, Yahiko standing besides her. "Nagato... Yahiko... I promise not to let either of you down... And I will put all my faith into him."

Hearing rustling at the entrance, Konan put the picture away and stood on guard. Putting out the small fire, just in case, Konan waited until two figures entered the cave. Melding into the side of the cave, hiding behind a rather large stalagmite she held her breath as she only asked for Naruto to come.

The fire suddenly was relit and she sighed in relief as it was Naruto, the painter having accompanied. "I thought I told you to come alone."

"I wouldn't have found this place if I was alone. Very few people know of it, after all." Naruto stated, looking towards the origami princess as she moved from behind the stalagmite, wearing a cloak he hadn't seen in a long time. "So I see you weren't kidding? You truly wish to reform the Akatsuki."

"I do. I know very well what that man is attempting and I won't let him. I won't give him this world so easily." Konan stated, moving to the fire, taking the spot she had previously claimed. "My goals are different from what Madara wanted... But I wish to achieve the same end. I want to create a world were everyone will understand each other... To bring forth a new dawn."

Silently listening, Naruto shook his head as he looked over at the woman. "I can see you are determined to see this through... But what happens if I refuse and I stand on the other side? Could you truly stand against me after what has happened between us?"

"I would not back down. Whether you are with me or not does mean I will just quit. I do not want to live in a world like this and if you do, that's fine. I will bring forth Nagato's dream alone!" Konan stated as she stood, disgusted with the blonde as she had not suspected he would even think about siding with that creature that was the Hokage.

"Sit down Konan... I never said I wouldn't join. I only wanted to see how strong your resolve was." Naruto stated, looking upwards at Konan as he motioned for her to sit back down.

Konan refused to sit as she looked down at him, her eyes narrowed. "I did come here to ask you to join. I came here to beg you to stand and lead us to a new beginning! Jiraiya, Nagato and even I believe that you truly are the one that will bring peace to land! Without you... This world cannot change. Even Madara knew that much!"

Watching from the entrance, Sai was rather shell shocked as he hadn't expected this. Sure, he expected that she would talk about reforming the Akatsuki but to ask Naruto to lead... How would that even work? He was the nine tail vessel!

To his credit, Naruto was rather calm from Konan's outburst and simply motioned for her to take a seat once more, something she did this time as she gaze at him in wonder. "Do you realize what you ask of me? ...You are asking me to abandon all my friends and my dream of becoming Hokage."

"I know." Konan stated, feeling somewhat guilty as she knew of his dreams very well. "What I ask is difficult... But it is the right thing to do. What good is being Hokage in a land full of hatred, lies and deceit? In the end, it would be nothing more then a waste of your life as you can do much more good with us! ...Come back with me and we can bring hope back to the people of this world."

Staying quiet after Konan had finished, Naruto closed his eyes. "There will be war, you know that. No matter what we say or do, the five great nations will be after us, believing us to be an evil entity just as the first dawn was."

Konan nodded, knowing the risks very well. "I know and my village is ready to support us in any way they can, even if it means war. They are willing to risk everything as they believe this world is too dark... Too depressing and they want to change that."

Sighing quietly, Naruto removed his headband before tossing it towards Sai and beckoning for his. "I cannot cross that one out... It means too much to me to do such a thing to Iruka."

Understanding, something Sai from a few years back wouldn't have been able to do, Sai took his off and tossed it to Naruto. "I guess this means I'll be some sort of spy for you then. ...Meh, I can live with that. That's been my job for as long as I can remember."

Scratching out the headband Sai had given him and placing it on, Naruto smiled and nodded. "If you can, I would appreciate it. Just keep Sakura safe for me."

"No! I'm coming with you!" A certain voice came from outside the cave, catching all three off guard before Sakura appeared with a few minor cuts and scrapes. "Danzo knows Konan survived and heard she was heading here, so he sent a team to finish her... I took care of them."

"Even with your skills, I do not think you understand the gravity of such an offer. For one to be a part of the Akatsuki, one must not only possess great skill but also have an unbreakable will and a steadfast belief." Konan reprimanded, knowing Sakura's skills to be great enough but feeling she did not possess what was necessary to be a part of their organization.

"I understand that Naruto is leaving and that means I will follow!" Sakura yelled out at Konan, not going to be told what she couldn't do. "I made him a promise and I will not break it under any circumstances. I will do anything and everything to see his dream come true, even if this is what it is!"

Konan, for the first time that night, was taken aback by Sakura's fierceness. But it was the shine in her eyes that caught her attention. There was something so familiar about them... It seemed the past really did repeat itself. But maybe this time there could be a change.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Konan looked directly into Sakura's emeralds before accepting her as she knew there would be no way to dissuade her now. But even then, she gave it her best attempt. "If that is what you wish, but I will warn you. Your wish will come true... And at the end of it, you may very well be left broken at the end. Is that something you can accept?"

"It is... As I will break if I lose Naruto as I did Sasuke. ...I would lose it without him now." Sakura retorted, gazing straight back into Konan's icy blues, not going to back down as that was the truth.

Nodding in response, Konan reached into her cloak before pulling forth a folded black cloak with various red clouds and presented it to Naruto. "I specially designed this particular cloak for you, to show you are the leader and the one to bring forth our dream."

Taking it from her, Naruto slid it on, it fit his form perfectly. But there was one difference he noticed between his cloak and Konan's. His clouds... They were almost identical to the shape of the Konoha leaf. Smiling and thanking Konan with a nod, Naruto passed by Sai and exited the cave with Sakura and Konan on his heels.

A new dawn was coming and he would be the one to deliver it.

* * *

**A/N2**: It didn't take too long for me to work this chapter out, the problem was I just wasn't able to update it. Seeing as I've planned on this flashback series since near the beginning, I'm rather excited to get to this point as I finally get to explain a lot of Naruto's character.

The Tsukiyomi, which I conveniently skipped as it wasn't important to show what Madara did to Naruto, was to explain a lot of Naruto's changes. It left him scarred and without someone like Tsunade who can heal that kind of mental damage(I do not believe the Yamanaka clan is capable of such a feat) he has to live with it and that causes some shifts in personality.

Now as everyone can obviously see, Naruto and Sakura obviously love each other. But their relationship is a lot like, in my opinion, Nagato and Konan's. There is love, but the man(Nagato/Naruto) cannot fall for the girl(Konan/Sakura) because of her love for their friend(Yahiko/Sasuke). They want to, but it would be too much of a betrayal and neither can do it which makes things harder for them as Konan and Sakura loved them just as much. Pretty much... Character and plot development.

Tsunade being put down was something I planned from the start on how Danzo kept office in Naruto's time other then not running into Sasuke and Madara after the Kage summit. I had some misgivings about it, as she is a very popular character and all, but in the end it was necessary.

To state, while Naruto seems ungodly powerful in this chapter, he is actually weaker and if were to fight Dauf at that moment, he would have gotten his ass kicked. He also caught Danzo off guard, who was misinformed about his true strength and therefore was at his mercy.

I wanted to end this at Naruto in the jail cell(before Danzo arrived), but to be honest... I had to combine this with the next chapter as the next chapter was rather short, at least for this story.

Also, this was originally suppose to be my **12th** chapter. The reason I bolded it was to be somewhat a tribute to Claymore as on the twelfth chapter they flashback to Clare's life with Teresa and I was looking to do the same for Naruto.

Now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if not... TELL ME WHAT I DID WRONG! Other then that, if you have a question or just want to compliment the story, leave a review for me. If you want to flame, go fine someone else as don't start a flaming war you can't handle.

So long everybody and until the next chapter, Peace Out.


	12. A War Without a Leader

**A/N**: Alright everyone, this is just another warning to state this is still a flashback chapter. There will be a few inserts from the last few Naruto chapters and those that have read them will know. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, A War Without a Leader.

* * *

"So this is the place?" Naruto asked Konan as they stepped into a small cabin in the middle of a swamp. It was covered in grass, moss, roots and various bugs flew and crawled around it.

But what caught Naruto's attention was the odd cards at the wall, sitting on a ledge, it with Konan, Nagato and Yahiko's names underneath them. And finally, there was a single coffin placed underneath the cards, a red card placed on top of it and hundreds of paper flowers of different colors surrounding it.

Konan smiled as Naruto recognized the cards and his eyes began to widen, she simply nodded as she walked over to the cards, flipping hers from a frog face to red. "It is… This is our home. This is the place Master Jiraiya taught the three of us. …And this is where the Akatsuki truly began so many years ago. This is where it should start again."

As Naruto simply nodded as she had told him the story before, Sakura gazed at the place, unsure if she actually wanted to stay in such a place especially if this place was so sacred to Konan. "Are you sure? You are the leader of the Rain, so couldn't we just use that as our base?"

"We will… But there is another reason why we came here Sakura. …I came to pay tribute." Naruto stated, gazing over towards Konan, who simply nodded, before moving to the coffin and kneeling before it.

Not sure why Naruto was praying, Sakura continuously looked between Naruto, Konan and the coffin hoping some answer might be explained. Thankfully, Konan was getting slightly annoyed at her constant gazing and gave her the answers she was seeking. "That is Master Jiraiya. I fished him out of the sea after I put Nagato and Yahiko to rest… It was the right thing to do as he taught us all so much and restored our faith at a critical time in our lives."

Her eyes widened in realization and her attention snapped back towards Naruto. A pang of sorrow washed over her, now being reminded that she wasn't the only one to lose a sensei and a parental figure… Even if the toad was a bad example of the latter. She had begun to forget that he had lost so much more…

Standing from his prayer position, Naruto placed a plushy of a toad on the coffin and sadly smiled. "Don't worry perv, I won't back down from our dream. I will bring forth the world you wanted… The world we deserve. …Just save me a seat, will you? It won't be long till I join you."

A similar smile cross Konan's lips, knowing what he meant by that. It was very similar to what she said to Nagato and Yahiko every time she visited their tomb. Brightening her smile as Naruto turned to them, Konan tilted her head as she flicked her hand and a piece of paper flipped over her card. "Come on. We've got some recruiting to do."

Naruto simply nodded, moving past Konan and Sakura and exited. Konan stayed behind for a moment, looking inside and at the two turn cards. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "I only came to visit… I will join you soon enough my friends."

As she exited the cabin, Konan was in shock. In a rare moment, the rain had halted and the sun shone through, a ray of light illuminating the cabin. Naruto only chuckled as he looked up at the sky before shaking his head as he saw Konan's face. Even the heavens above shone on them.

This was the right thing to do.

* * *

The heat was killing her. She couldn't understand how Naruto and Sakura weren't affected as much as she was. It was ridiculously hot! Sure it was a desert but…

In the lead, as he had been, Naruto shook his head as he could tell Konan was exhausted from the heat. He couldn't blame her as the Rain was rather cool thanks to the constant rain and cloud cover so she wasn't use to the heat even while she regulated her body temperature to stay cool. "We're almost there."

"That doesn't help at all… We still have to leave this place!" Konan growled, the heat making her unusually aggressive.

All her growl did was make Naruto chuckle to himself, which in turn earned him a rock to the forehead by Sakura. "Don't be laughing at her misfortune, Naruto. I remember the first time you came here, you were complaining about how hot it was."

"Hey! In my defense I was inexperienced and that was only after we rescued Gaara." Naruto retorted, rubbing the back of his head while wondering where in the world she found the gravel rock. They were in the desert and there were no cliffs in sight!

Glad she packed a scroll of rocks and stones to hit Naruto with, Sakura turned her attention ahead as a familiar sight began to tower before them. "Get ready… I doubt we're going to get a warm reception as we did last time."

Putting away his playfulness, for now at least, Naruto turned more serious as they reached the gate before he realized something. Why in the world were they going through the gate? They were the Akatsuki! And the last thing anyone remembered about them was they were after the bijuu!

"Ah god dammit!"

Right on cue, the guards immediately noticed them and saw their cloaks. Soon as they saw this, they went on the attack as the left unleash a powerful blast of wind towards them while the one on the right unsheathed a pair of blades and charged them, using the wind to his aid.

He first targeted Naruto, not recognizing him, and slashed through him only for him not to be there. In the next moment, both his wrists were gripped by the two women followed by a punch in the face from Sakura, knocking the guard out cold. His partner immediately moved to help only to freeze as he felt the cold touch of a kunai at the back of his neck.

"We aren't here to cause further damage. We simply wish to talk to your Kazekage as there is business to discuss with him." Naruto stated, his blue eyes gazing into the man's as he look back to see him.

"LIKE HELL YOU DO!" A young women's voice yelled followed by a powerful just of wind.

It, however, failed to even move the blonde but instead simply knocked the guard away and into the desert. Both Konan and Sakura were caught as well and held firm, Sakura more easily then Konan… Who was rather irritated as wind was yet another of her weaknesses… Along with any other elemental attack!

Not even bothering to turn as he knew who it was Naruto grinned underneath his collar. "Ah, Temari. I'm glad it's you. How long has it been? Two years since we've last seen each other."

Temari froze. Oh she knew that voice well. She wished she didn't as it would have been much easier to fight without knowing. But now that she knew…

Kankuro, who was with her, didn't recognize it and growled as his puppets began to move towards the blonde Akatsuki member, readying them to strike if he didn't like the answer. "Who the hell are you and how do you know my sister?"

"You really want to know?" Naruto asked, toying with the puppeteer as he kept his back towards them, seeing if he would recognize his voice as his appearance was a little different since the last time they saw him. He had grown another four inches and the spikes of his hair grew longer.

Getting pissed as he knew this guy was messing around with him, Kankuro yelled out as Crow went to stab them. "Fuck you! Just die!"

"Ah, so you don't remember me Kankuro." Naruto whispered as he appeared directly behind Kankuro having used a replacement, a glowing blue orb just inches from the back of his head. "You are much more effective when you don't show yourself. However… A puppeteer will never beat me or my partners… Isn't that right Sakura?"

"Ever so humble are we? What happened to playing it cool and not showing off?" Sakura grinned as he moved towards them, her emerald eyes gleaming as it was rather fun to act all super powerful. "By the way, wave of sand directly behind you."

"I know. What do you think I am? Stupid?" Naruto commented before thrusting the orb into the ground below him, creating a crack in the rocky road and slowing the sand for a moment.

In that moment, Naruto back flipped and landed besides Sakura as Konan moved besides them, twitching her eyebrow at the two of them. "I swear… You kids don't even act like this is important! This isn't a field trip!"

Naruto nodded as he knew that was true, but he couldn't help but smile as the red headed Kazekage made his appearance in a vicious swirl of sand before his two siblings. "Yeah, I know. …But these are our friends too, Konan. As much as we believe in the cause, our friends have equal value and I will not ask them to stick their neck out for us."

Gaara had simply stayed quiet, listening to what Naruto had said. He had known the blonde was here as the sand told him. But to see him wearing the Akatsuki cloak… That was unsettling. However he still seemed to be the same, so there was something up.

Waving off the many shinobi that had came as a warning siren was blowing, he decided to get straight to the point. "Why is it you are here? I heard you had some business to speak to me about."

"How the hell did you hear that? You weren't even around!" Sakura yelled as she had barely heard Naruto say that to the guard moments before Temari and Kankuro arrived.

Simply lifting the sand around him by his will alone, Gaara gazed over at the pink haired medic and was rather surprised she was wearing the cloak as well. "I see and hear all within the desert as the sand speaks to me. Now answer my questions are we will forcefully expel you."

Konan stepped forward and inform him of their reason there when Naruto cut in front of her. "Nothing much. We came here to ask you if you wish to have Shukaku back. I know with the sand demon your power still isn't as great as it was and you have to actively keep your sand shield up with your own."

Glaring at Naruto for cutting her off and stating something they had not gone over, Konan stepped back and decided to see this play out. Naruto knew Gaara better and figured he was working an angle or trying to gain his trust as it obviously dropped.

"I rather not have that demon back inside me, if that's what you are offering. I like being able to sleep whenever I wish." Gaara stated, narrowing his eyes as he wondered what Naruto was up to as well.

"You doubt my ability in sealing?" Naruto questioned as he raised his eyebrow. "The seal placed on you before was simply too weak and that is why you were unable to sleep. I could easily fix that where you still get all the benefits and you still get to sleep whenever."

"What are you up to, Uzumaki? I know your skills very well and I know you could safely seal it back within me or a child if you wished. But there is something you want of me and I want to know." Gaara growled as he could sense there was an ulterior motive for Naruto's arrival then just to seal the sand demon back within him.

And that smile was getting on his nerves! Would he stop smiling? This was suppose to be serious!

"I would ask no such thing my old friend. I simply came here out of good will to show you that the new dawn is not the same as the last. We are not to collect the bijuu in order to recreate Jyuubi and destroy these people's lives. …We are to restore peace to this land, once and for all." Naruto announced rather loudly and looking at the shinobi of the village instead of Gaara as he finished.

Motioning for both Konan and Sakura to leave as he turned around, Konan very displeased with what had transpired, Naruto stopped and spoke softly. "War is coming soon, Gaara, and I don't want your people to suffer. I truly wish for your help, but I will not ask for it as I would be asking for too much of you and this village."

"Good day and I hope to see you again… Whether it is in this life or the next." Naruto finished and followed Konan and Sakura out of the gates and back into the desert.

Watching their retreating backs fade into the distance, Gaara looked on with a stoic face despite his head spinning in turmoil. He wasn't sure what this was about… But war was coming? Why had he heard nothing about this?

Frowning, he turned from his spot and headed to his tower. There were things he needed to know.

* * *

"What the fuck was that about, Naruto?" Konan screamed at the blonde as they camp at the edge of the desert as night set.

Konan was beyond enraged. She was almost foaming at the mouth and ready to strangle the blonde for his actions in the sand. "You screwed everything up! We were suppose to have invited Gaara to join us along with his village to strengthen our forces! Even with the Sand's help our chances were low but without them… We don't have a chance! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

"Konan… Shut up." Naruto growled, his eyes golden as he had been staying still and gathering natural chakra to pour into his seal. "I know very well what I did and I don't need you to tell me off. Besides, I lead the Akatsuki and our plans, not you! You gave me that power and I will do what I think is best!"

At first it seemed Konan would back down, Naruto standing up for what he did and enforcing that he was the leader not her. She, however, did not. "Yes as I thought you would do what was necessary for us to succeed! I trusted that you would do whatever it took even if it wasn't always the _right _thing to do!"

Becoming worried as she sat by Naruto's side, seeing that Naruto was becoming very irritated, Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's back and rubbed it softly. "Konan… Would you just trust us? Naruto knows what he is doing and he doesn't need someone cutting his legs out from beneath him."

Turning her angered gaze at Sakura, Konan refrained from cursing at her. Damn the girl reminded her too much of herself. She always tried to play the mediator between two parties that didn't agree, often Nagato and Yahiko, and try to calm them down. "You knew he was going to do this, didn't you?"

Grimacing as she nodded, Sakura indeed knew as she knew Naruto very well. She braced for the verbal assault that was about to be unleashed upon her but it never came as Naruto spoke before Konan could say anything. "Gaara is my friend as is his brother and his sister. His village is precious to him which makes it precious to me and I will not rape it for resources as my friends trump my goals every time… Why do you think I accepted your invitation to lead this dawn?"

This time Konan was silent as her gaze turned back to Naruto, her eyes widened yet she was unable to speak as Naruto continued. "Our goals mean nothing if they cause suffering for others, Konan. That will only add onto the hatred and this cycle will never end as another Madara will be born! It must end and if I have to sacrifice my own goals to stop suffering, I will!"

Konan could not respond this time. She felt a little bad as she could relate to what he said. What peace would be brought if people suffered in order to achieve it? Someone could have lost everything and then blame them and gain unimaginable power to destroy them and wreak havoc among everyone… Just as Madara did.

"Well spoken, Uzumaki." Gaara's voice stated as the sand around them began to swirl before Gaara appeared causing Konan and Sakura to be on edge. "But let me ask this. The war you plan on starting… Won't it bring more suffer?"

"It will… But it will set everyone free from the chains that bind them to hatred." Naruto responded as he gazed at the red head, as if he had expected him to arrive. "I know I have practically no chance in succeeding… But I have to try. I love this world too much to let it go to hell."

Staring right back at him, the slimmest of smiles cracked on his face. "I would expect nothing less from you. …My village and my power are at your disposal. Just make sure of one thing for me."

Somewhat surprised that Gaara actually joined, not really having planned for it, Naruto only blinked. "What?"

"…Don't ever touch my sister again. I will kill you if you do." Gaara stated nonchalantly as he sat down before the fire as if there was nothing wrong with what he had said.

Naruto's eyes simply widened as he knew that Gaara had just learned about that and nodded vigorously. And with that, he got up and dusted himself off before waving at all three of them. "Welcome to the Akatsuki, my friend… And if you don't mind, I'm going to get a head start back to the Rain."

Whistling as he walked away, he felt a pair of gray and emerald eyes boring into the back of his skull. He simply continued forward, moving faster then before. He didn't want to be murdered in his sleep tonight.

Turning her gaze from Naruto, twitching madly in the process, Konan shook her head. He was young after all and the young should not be bound to the old.

Shaking that out of her head, not wanting to dwell on it, she turned to Gaara before speaking. "Aren't you going to head back? It is best that people do not know that you are apart of the Akatsuki as they may think we have manipulated you, as Madara did to the Yondaime Mizukage for so long."

"No need." Gaara answered as he built a gourd of sand besides him, knowing he would have to keep some now that he was leaving the desert. "Temari and Kankuro will run the village in my absence. Besides… I have accepted Naruto's offer. …I want Shukaku's power back to supplement my own. I know he can seal her back into me without any ill side affects."

Being taken back by his response, unsure why he wanted to be a demon vessel again as his life as one was rather horrid, Konan was unsure what to say as Sakura came to her rescue. "We'll do it when we arrive as Konan will have to take us there. She is the only one that knows where they are kept."

Simply nodding, Gaara closed his eyes. Soon he would be whole again.

* * *

It was rather loud as Konan stood on her perch in the tower overlooking the village below. And below her, the entire village population waited for her to make her announcement. There was no civilians as they Rain had been ravaged by so long no civilian wanted to live there any longer, a view shared even by the shinobi.

"Listen to me everyone." Konan started, knowing all of their attention was on her as she was God's Angel, "Less then a week ago an assassination was attempted against me by Konoha."

Hearing the mummer below of anger and outrage, Konan silenced them with a wave of her hand. "I do not want any aggression. We have no need for that now as we do not have the power to challenge them. As such I want you all to act accordingly and go out of your way not to attack Konoha ninja. The last thing we need now is to give them a reason to invade our lands."

"But fear not… I am not letting their blatant disrespect of our land go. …I know what the Hokage wants and I will not give it to him. As such, a new dawn has been born!" Konan spoke with fire burning in her eyes, gazing down at her people and gauging their reaction as she continued. "…However, I will not be leading it… There is one more suited. The very same one that Nagato had passed his will onto. The will to change this world!"

Knowing this was his time to speak, Konan pretty much laying it out for him to take the stage, Naruto sighed before pushing his feelings aside as he stepped onto the perch as Konan gave way and Sakura stood at his side, just slightly behind. There were many gasps, many of the shinobi recognizing who he was having spent a few months in he Rain with Konan after his final battle against Madara in which he save Konan's life.

"I see you all know me… That makes things easier." Naruto announced, glad he didn't have to introduce himself as Gaara stood behind him donning the Akatsuki cloak. "I have left Konoha in order to peruse a greater goal… To save this world and give it peace, even if is only for a moment."

"But know this… War is coming soon and that is unavoidable. We must be ready for it but… For all those that don't wish to be apart of this, you may leave. We will grant you amnesty and will not mark you as missing ninja. I simply ask when this is over to come back and help rebuild." Naruto stated, feeling that it would be best to let those who didn't want to be apart of this go.

Surprisingly, no one moved. Standing beside him, Konan smiled as she knew her people well. They had been ravaged by war so much that another one wouldn't damage their spirit as long as there was hope it would be the last. That was all they wanted… To be given a chance to live their lives like they want to.

"For those who stay, know it will be a long and trying affair… one we may not succeed in. But if we do succeed… I promise the light will shine once more on these lands." Naruto finished and as he did so, the rain even if it was only briefly, heeded to his words and stopped.

Taking advantage of the shock in the crowd as the rain began to pour once more; Konan stepped forward and stand directly at Naruto's side. "What say you? Will you join us for this one last time?"

It wasn't immediate, but it took only one shinobi for the rest to follow. The one, who was one of the younger leaders of the village, stepped forward. "I shall follow you into the depths of hell! I'll do whatever it takes to end this misery!"

It was a shock wave as the rest of the shinobi, almost simultaneously, broke out in cheers and agreement. Everyone from the old to the young stood by each other, celebrating the chance of peace was something they all yearned for but were denied so many times.

Taking this all in stride, Naruto simply nodded at each of them as they quieted. "Then prepare for combat. When I return, war shall follow. Stand by one another and support each other as you are now and we will bring forth a new era… One of hope!"

Turning as they all broke into cheers once more, Naruto exited the perch and into the office. It was rather strange as Konoha's podium for speaking was at the top of the tower, not just outside the office. Nonetheless he took a seat in the main chair and sighed. "It is strange… I never thought I would have to rally people to go to war… As it is something I detest."

Both Sakura and Konan moved besides him, glaring at each other for a moment for the other copying them, they were about to speak when Gaara cut them off. "So… Shall I head back and inform my siblings?"

"No, not yet. You aren't back at full strength so it is best to wait. I won't be leaving just yet as Sakura will head back to the leaf first. Thanks to Sai, it is believed in Konoha that I chased after a rogue ninja that kidnapped both Konan and Sakura. But if word about this gets out…" Naruto thought about it for a moment before grimacing as that would blow his cover.

"We can arrange to keep it a secret, if you like?" A voice stated, catching all but Konan off guard as she realized who it belonged to as another voice joined it. "_Yes… We are good at keeping secrets, espionage and eliminating spies_."

"Show yourself Zetsu!" Konan commanded immediately after his two halves had stopped speaking.

Doing as he was told, a plant-like figure rose from the floorboards. "Very well my lovely lady. You are looking as fine as ever."

Never having been hit on by Zetsu before, Konan was slightly flattered but kept her poise as she looked over at him, noticing he had his Akatsuki cloak on. "Why is it you have arrived? We are not like the last dawn and do not plan on ruling this world as the last regime did."

Both sides of Zetsu simply smirked at Konan as he tilted his head before the black side responded. "_My, have you mistaken why we originally joined? It was never about power or anything like that. It was simply for the thrill of being apart of something greater then our self. We care not whether this world is torn asunder or is at peace. We simply want to be on the side that brings forth change as this world is quite boring now._"

"Besides, whether or not you like it you are in need of our abilities. Now as we asked, would you like to keep others from discovering this little rally you just had?" The white half of Zetsu added, grinning as he did so which in turn made Konan frown as she knew he was playing them for fools.

"If you could." Naruto responded, making Konan's neck nearly snapped as she turned to him. "I admit we are rather short on ninjas that excel in espionage these days. You would be an asset we would value greatly… But I will let you join on one condition. …Was I Madara's final plan?"

The question silenced the entire room. Each knew what Naruto was hinting at, having been told of Naruto's reoccurring nightmares of Madara's Tsukiyomi. If that was true… Was what they were doing wrong? Were they just playing into the Uchiha's hand?

Zetsu simply shook his head before white answered. "We would not know that. Madara never once thought he would fail, so we cannot say for certain that you were. It could have very well have been the other Uchiha as well."

Staring at the two halved man for a moment, detecting whether or not he was being truthful, Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "Then go. Make sure no news of this gets out but be discrete about it. I want Sakura and my return to go off without a hitch."

"_We're on it._" The black half chimed before Zetsu sunk into the floor to complete his task.

After a moment, making sure he wasn't there any longer, Konan turned to Naruto. "He could be a spy for all you know! He was faithful to Madara to the end so what makes you think he would be on our side for this!"

"Simple… He desires change; that much I see." Naruto retorted as he tried to put Konan at ease. "He was loyal to Madara for that reason alone and he will be loyal to our cause for that said reason. Danzo and others like him don't offer him what he desires as they simply want power, something he is bored with. For that reason, I know he will not betray us."

Konan wasn't entirely convinced and neither were Gaara and Sakura, both of whom were gazing/glaring at him before the former spoke. "Was it because… He spoke the truth that you accepted him?"

Naruto tilted his head slightly in confirmation. "That had a little to do with it. I wouldn't have accepted him otherwise but… I truly believed in what he said. He doesn't care what the world we want is like… He just wants something new to play with and while he may be a dangerous element later on, for now he is a valuable asset and we must accept that."

Having placated the three, Naruto closed his eyes once more before he was forced to open them as Sakura shook his shoulder. "Shouldn't we go over how we're going to travel back to Konoha and go over the story so we get it right?"

Sighing as he rather just take a nap at the moment, Naruto shook his head. He had to get this over with.

* * *

"Okay… I really wished I traveled with Sakura." Naruto complained to himself was he walked alone in the forest, no longer wearing his Akatsuki cloak and instead donning his normal clothing with a fixed head band along with his sage cloak. "Not only is it boring to talk to only myself but the scenery is the same. Tree after tree after tree…"

"Now you know what we have to go through every day." Zetsu's white side stated appearing out of the tree Naruto was standing next to.

Naruto just barely kept himself from jumping and screaming out in surprise. Zetsu was simply too stealthy and that on its own was a problem as he was rather good at sensing others. "How was Sakura's acceptance back into the leaf?"

"_It went off just as planned. We had to rough her up a little to make her story credible. Using us as the kidnapper was actually rather intelligent move as we still are a known part of the last regime. Shall we do the same?_" The black side reported as Zetsu tilted his head a little, seeming excited at the prospect.

Shaking his head at that, Naruto raised his eyebrow at him for a moment before deciding to make camp here. "Not at the moment. I'm still a good ways away and it will take a little while before a team is sent out to see that I return. I want you to be look out for them and when they are close, we'll start fighting and you will use them to make your escape."

"Meh… I liked our way better, but that is more believable. You did kill Madara." Zetsu stated before sinking into the ground and head in the direction of Konoha to watch for the retrieval unit to uphold his portion of the task.

Sighing as he hoped this would work and nothing would go wrong, Naruto began to set up camp. He would have to hide it well to make sure there was no evidence, but he couldn't just stay here and do nothing. …Well he did have a certain book.

Forgetting about making camp, Naruto looked all around him to make sure Zetsu wasn't around. Reaching into his pouch, he started to pull out the greatest creation for all perverts when he stopped.

His entire body flickered in and out of existence before he hit his knees and began to dry heave. The feeling… It had come from his stomach. Was this the fox's doing? …No, the fox wouldn't do this now. The control he had slipped away from him as Naruto was in complete control as of now. So what was that…?

Convulsing as his entire body flickered once more, Naruto's hands hit the ground as he clawed at it trying to gain some sort of grip. But this was an unearthly feeling… Something was tugging on him, trying to draw him away from here… No not him… Someone was trying to summon…

His body's flickering become more constant and he was no longer able to concentrate on his thoughts. All there was… Was pain.

* * *

"Hey wake up!" Clare's voice screech in his ear, forcing Naruto's eyes open and jerking his head back… Right into the tree he was leaning against.

Cursing as he rubbed the back of his head as Clare laughed, he twitched at the girl she finally got a hold of herself. "Aren't we suppose to be training? You dozed off again in Miss' Luciela's apple grove again."

Suddenly a dozen apples all fell onto Naruto's head followed by the branch, making the young man curse more then before as he looked up to see Teresa eating a single apple with Irene sitting next to her with a smirk on her face as she sheathed her claymore. "What the hell was that for?"

"Slouching on your training." Teresa responded simply as she ate the apple, glad that they had finally found out how to annoy Naruto just like had done to them, mostly her, before.

"For you information, I was thinking." Naruto retorted as he was half tempted to fill the tree with explosive notes but thought better of it. Luciela would be very pissed as she loved her apple trees as she grew them from seeds… Which made him wonder how old she was as these trees were rather mature.

Teresa snorted as she noted Luciela entering the area, no doubt searching for Naruto for some reason that probably involved either not being in the house the last few days or the fire he had accidentally set to yet another garden of hers. "Yeah and I like to have alone time to study life."

Groaning as he didn't want to prolong this, and also because if he had countered her with what popped into his mind he would have been missing a head, he turned to see Luciela enter the apple grove, looking rather irked. "Naruto… Where were you last night? I slept alone again!"

Not wanting to say anything that would bury his grave, like she gravitated towards the bed he slept in every night after he fell asleep alone, Naruto decided for a different approach. "I was thinking about my world and I guess I dozed off and relived those moments in my dreams."

Already being irritated, Luciela took a deep breath to calm herself before she scowled at him. "I see… Did you at least get anything good out of those dreams? Maybe those two were in the dream… Perhaps you were having se…!"

"DO NOT SAY THAT WORD IN FORNT OF CLARE!" Teresa yelled at Luciela, interrupting her by pegging her in the face with the apple core of the apple she had been eating.

Growling, half tempted to forsake this was her apple grove and maul the Claymore, Luciela threw it back at Teresa who simply caught it as she was prepared. Pissed at this, Luciela was ready to forget about Naruto and teach the Claymore mother a lesson when Naruto stopped them both. "Actually I did… I finally figured it out. I was summoned here."

This brought the attention back onto Naruto, which he was glad for as another fight between Luciela and Teresa would not end well. They had nothing to say about it as it made sense, but now it begged the question…

"Now who was it that summoned me?"

* * *

**A/N2**: Well there is the last flashback chapter/dream sequence. Once again it wasn't long enough to stretch it out to two chapters, so I stuck with one. Despite that I actually like how this chapter turned out as it focused more on Naruto and Konan's relationship a little more.

This is not actually what I had planned originally, but it is very similar except I had planned on there being a Kage summit to discuss the New Dawn. However the way I wrote it pretty much negate that so I scratched it. I also planned on there being scenes about their search for Naruto but I scratched them as well as I wanted this to be more of a dream sequence(which makes the last chapter odd as I did do the scene with Danzo and Sai).

The last scene was something I decided on at the last second as it made a bigger impact then the Akatsuki's search for Naruto. That in turn makes the title of this chapter, A War Without a Leader, misleading but everyone can assume what happened after Naruto's disappearance.

Oh, this is just a warning. The little tidbit about Naruto having sex with two women is going to be kind of a running gag with Luciela as she is determined to know who they are and compare herself to them(and possibly to eliminate and threats to her Naruto). Hopefully I made it obvious to who they were this chapter and if not… Read the end of the scene when Gaara joins again. I kind of wanted to make it a surprise… But why bother. You'd be constantly guessing if I didn't which eliminates the fun, at least for me, about the gag.

Also, I've been getting a lot of questions about the pairing is for some reason. I had always designed it for the winner of the second Luciela vs. Teresa fight would be paired with Naruto. Originally I had planned multiple endings on each pairing, but now I have a firm direction where I want this story to end. So just to clarify, this isn't a Naruto/Luciela/Teresa. It is just the first two.

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. If not… What's wrong with you? For those of you that have something to say, you know the drill. And please… Please, don't just leave reviews about who you think summoned Naruto. Add something else to it like, Good Job! or something like that to the end of it to give me confidence boosters!

Oh, before I forget the updates will slow down for a little as I have a long move ahead. I won't have too much time to write afterwards but I'll still be updating, staying up to three in the morning as I did for this chapter. Peace Out.


	13. It's Your Time, Clare

**A/N**: Hey everyone, I'm back and I have officially moved and am comfortable enough to start writing once more. Still except updates to be slowed due to the amount of work I have to do to stay warm. Anyways, we're finally out of the flashback/dream sequence and back onto the main story. There is a time skip, so everyone is a little older however only Clare shows it. Now, here is the next chapter, It is Your Time, Clare.

* * *

"It is too hot…" Clare mumbled to herself as she wiped the sweat off her brow with the cloak her teacher had given her as a present.

It was a white cloak exactly like his red one with almost identical flames at the bottom with the only difference being the flames were blue. She would have been wearing it, but she still was a novice when it came to regulating her body's temperature and even though her core felt cool… Her skin was burning as the sun baked her alive!

Of course she was in a desert, one boarding the southern and western lands even though in technical terms it would be considered the center of the island continent. Most of the land surrounding central was either a desert or a savanna from what Teresa and Irene had told her and were sweltering hot. The only difference was one actually had plant life, excluding cacti.

What also didn't help was that her clothing was rather heavy as both Teresa and Naruto thought it was best for her to wear armor. Thankfully it wasn't the same armor Teresa use to wear otherwise she would have already passed out. It was simple leather armor, built into a brown vest that covered her torso, obviously when it was closed.

Open as it was, you could see the white blouse she wore that reached down just past her belly button and had a small v-cut on the collar to compliment her bust, something that had grown over the past few years. She wanted it to be a little shorter so she could show off her stomach but her mother had thrown a fit until she lengthened it.

Teresa was having a little trouble with her now as she wanted to her to dress properly and not as a prostitute. Truthfully, she didn't think she was showing off that much skin, but Teresa took offense and went after Naruto as he had been the designer of her clothes.

Clare shook her head at her mother. She still thought she was a little girl and had a hard time accepting that she was nearly an adult now. Not that she could blame her; she was still very dependent on Teresa's guidance and thought highly of her opinion. In fact… This was the first time she had ever been on her own, without another to help her.

Still, her mother had liked the pant style she wore. It was rather simplistic, weaved out of the same material made of rope and tied at her hip, to keep them firmly grasped onto her waist. They were rather heavy, but that was due to the thin armor added to them in a chain like pattern.

But all of this didn't really matter to her as she was MELTING! She swore if that cloud above her didn't move in front of the sun for a while, she would become a puddle of flesh and blood before she made the town… But it had been so hot she hadn't even realized that she had made it.

"Oh. I'm already here." Clare nervously chuckled to herself as she was seemingly too self absorbed to have realized that she had made it.

And at that exact moment her eyes twitched as she had found a canteen that was strapped to her back. Instead of chucking it as she have liked to, Clare simply took a swig of water and felt so much better.

Sighing in relief now that was what she had needed, the water being extra cold due to a seal, Clare walked into the town before noting the immediately hostility of everyone there. Yep, she had arrived in the right place. If people were this distrusting of strangers, they had a problem. A yoma problem.

Well, that was the reason she was here. This was to be her first test… To see if she was ready to take the next step in her training and actually apply what she had learned.

Seeing that most people were rather weary of her, she thought about where the best place to get information would be in a village like this. Snapping her fingers, remembering what Naruto had taught her when he took her out on one of Luciela's missions for him, she knew where she needed to go.

The problem was finding the said place as it seemed the sign posts to most of the shops had been withered down by frequent sand storms. Still, the little mug on the wooden plank wasn't too hard to tell and she entered, heading straight to the barkeep. "I would like a small bottle of sake to go if you have any."

"Huh… That's weird. You're the second person that has asked for that drink today and it normally doesn't sale as it is rather expensive. But if you are only asking for a bottle, I can do that. That guy almost swept me clean of the stuff." The barkeep state, scratching his head as it wasn't a drink asked for too often as it was imported from the southern half of the continent.

At this, Clare twitched. She knew of only one man that would buy that much. She could only sigh as she withdrew a few bera from a pouch she kept strapped to her left leg. The said barkeep noticed this as well as he brought her a corked bottle. "So you have one of those too? Are you friends with that guy?"

"No, he is my brother. He's a few years older then me and has been traveling around the land, searching for something. I've been tracking him down as mother has become sick." Clare stated, telling a story she thought on the spot as she couldn't exactly call Naruto her father figure. He only looked a few years older then she did now!

'Damn the ageless freak.' Clare mumbled in her head as she took the bottle from the man before yawning after she popped the cork and took a drink. "I'm rather tired… Is there a good place to stay the night here?"

"…I would recommend you keep going if you know what's best for you, girl. There is a yoma in this town and if you stay, you might be next on its menu." The drunk next to her on the bar stated, somehow being able not to slur his words despite having so many bottles of liquor next to him.

Looking over at him before shrugging her shoulders and taking another swig of the bottle. "Don't worry about me my dear sir, I can handle myself."

With that, she turned back to the barkeep before he motioned to the building across from him. "That is a pretty good place to stay. A few drunks spend the night there, but I would say it is pretty safe. The inn keeper is a retired soldier from Rabona and now with this yoma attack, he has been rather alert."

Nodding as that would at least comfort travelers to know their inn keeper was an ex-soldier, Clare gave him a simple wave before putting a few extra beras on the bar as a tip. She immediately went to the inn before heading to the man. "How much for a room?"

The said man looked at her for a moment, as if she was odd, before he looked through the window and at the bar. As if understanding just by a mere glance, the ex-soldier finally spoke. "I'll only charge twenty. As I'm sure you've heard, we have a bit of a problem and I can't promise you will be safe tonight."

"I'm unworried. I was taken in by a kind Claymore for some time. I know how to defend myself from a yoma if it is to attack me. Killing one, however, I'm not too sure about." Clare responded as she handed the keep the bera needed.

Somewhat surprised, thinking most Claymores were more like yoma and didn't care about human life, the former soldier nodded and handed her a key. "Second room on the left. My wife serves dinner at seven so if anyone else comes in before that… Well, you'll have a good idea about what they are. I will only come in after to pick up the dishes and make sure everyone is alright."

Satisfied as the man knew how to at least comfort those he let stay, Clare walked to her room to take a break. However as she opened it she sighed heavily before closing the door behind her. "Okay… I have to know. How did you know that I would be in this room?"

A certain blonde only chuckled at her before taking a swig of the sake he had bought earlier. "A hunch… Or that is what I would like to say. Truthfully, there are only four rooms in this place and Teresa, Irene and I rented the other three for the night."

Clare twitched. Her mother, her teacher and her guardian were all here as well? "Do you even trust me? I can handle this on my own?"

"Well of course we trust you." Teresa stated, appearing in the room just as she was speaking through a swirl of air, liking that version better then the leaf and snow swirl. "But for one, we have to see if you succeed and just in case you fail, one of us will step in."

Turning to her mother, seeing Irene entering in the same fashion having sensed Teresa flickering to this room, Clare was the first to note her wear as she definitely had not been wearing that before. "What the… Teresa, why are you wearing…?"

"The cloak? Oh, I accepted her into the dawn. She is more then strong enough to be accepted and, well… Agrees with and wants to fight for the dawn's purpose." Naruto answered as Clare was obviously stunned by Teresa's new look.

Teresa nodded in agreement as she looked at her daughter. "But that really doesn't matter now as we have to get to his world first. As we were saying… We're just here to watch your examination and to see if you pass or fail!"

Seeing how chipper she was saying that, Clare only twitched for a moment before she gazed at Irene, who simply shook her head. "Can't help you on this one. You have to find the yoma on your own and slay it. And don't even ask me on how it is being graded… Only he knows that."

As she pointed at Naruto, he simply finished the bottle of his sake before standing up and stretching. "There is no grade. No matter how she does it, if she succeeds, she passes. Simple as that… Now, my creator has a prior engagement to get to and couldn't be here for this. I'm simply a clone as he had to get to his destination."

Soon as the clone dispersed into smoke, Teresa began to curse up a storm before flickering away, probably in an attempt to catch him and pummel him for not being formally present for Clare's incaution test.

Sighing as she watched this, as Teresa and Naruto had a weird relationship that involved the one party ticking off the other, Irene flipped a cloak over her head. "I guess it is up to me… Stay aware of your surroundings, Clare and keep an eye out and you will find it."

Watching as Irene flickered back into her room, Clare groaned before heading straight to her bed and collapsing onto it. This was going to be a long day… And it wasn't even noon yet!

* * *

"Alright…" Clare mumbled to herself as she watched many of the villagers, mostly the men, head into one building. "Must be a meeting to discuss what to do about the yoma. …The village elder probably called a meeting so he can draw the necessary money to hire a Claymore."

Watching each man enter, Clare attempted to catch an odd glimpse of their presence, hoping that she could detect the yoma through her senses. She wasn't having the greatest luck as that too was a great weakness for her. She had difficulty sensing aura, any kind of aura whether it was chakra or yoki, so it was a rather fruitless affair.

Growling as she needed to find the yoma soon, seeing that most villages gathered money just before a warrior's arrival, she took a deep breath to calm down. She couldn't blow a fuse otherwise she would never find the yoma. Now she just had to think of the tell-tale signs of a yoma possession.

It was **almost** impossible for anyone but a Claymore to detect a yoma's presence and that was because they could see the yoki. There, however, was one thing that an individual possessed by a yoma that would allow others to know what they are. It was how they walked.

Now normally, this was wouldn't be noticed by anyone and they would just think the person had hurt themselves as they limped every now and then. The reason for that was that a yoma was just naturally bigger and while they could morph, it was still difficult for them to keep such a metamorphous and they would occasional attempt to morph back and they had to repress it, causing the limp.

However… There was problem with using this method in this town. Most of the men were miners and normally came home with some sort of light injury that caused them to limp!

Ready to pull hair out of her head as this entire thing was extraordinarily frustrating for her. She had just wished the damn yoma was pointed out to her so she could slay it! That would have been so much more accurate test of her abilities then this!

Attempting to calm down, an endeavor that was rather difficult on its own, Clare immediately caught two men walking to the building. …No, both were boys. The elder of the two could be considered an adult, but he was still rather young, probably the same age as she was. The other was a young boy, with light brown hair.

Watching as his brother told him to play out here while he went to talk to the village elder, Clare frowned as she watched him walk in. Why in the world would the older brother be looking after the younger and where in the world were their parents?

Her eyes lit up as a thought came to her. They were now orphans… Because their parents were eaten by the yoma. But why would the yoma just stop at the parents? It normally would eat the entire family or possess one of them and leave one other family member alive to make the disguise believable. …So it was very probable that one of the two was the yoma. So the question now was… Which one?

Jumping down into the alley, making sure no one saw her as they could think she was the yoma, Clare headed into the square and noticed the boy was heading to where she was. Part of her wanted to panic, thinking he might have seen her jump, but she kept her poise as he moved by her and into the alley.

Finding this somewhat odd as she watched him sit next to the building everyone was in, trying to listen to what was going on, Clare frown. That behavior wasn't exactly normal… Yet at the same time, if he was a yoma he would simply know that a meeting like this was for hiring a warrior. So was the boy… Just curious?

Walking over to him, tilting her head at an odd angle, she spoke in a rather playful voice in order to lower his guard. "Hi there! What are you doing back here in a dark alley like this? Shouldn't you be out playing or something?"

Seeing she had completely caught him off guard, the boy turned to her, fearful at what could happen. However, after a moment of looking at her he felt mysteriously calmed and could feel that she meant no harm to him. "Sorry… What was that again? You startled me."

"I asked what you were doing back here and not playing with anyone. A kid your age should have tons of friends to play with." Clare smiled at him, asking her question once more.

It seemed her question dampened his mood as his face fell and he curled into himself. "No one comes out to play anymore as they are all too afraid they might get eaten… And they are all afraid of me as my parents were… They were…"

Watching him struggle to say what he was trying to say added with the tears welling and falling from his eyes, Clare had to keep from reaching out and hugging him. It reminded her too much of what happened to her when she was younger… Before she met Teresa.

"It is as I thought…" Clare mumbled to herself, still not entirely bought that the boy wasn't the yoma as they took the human's mind and could act like them. However, she felt it was more likely his brother now that was the yoma, but she hadn't heard his story yet so she couldn't jump to conclusions.

"What was that?" The boy asked, having heard her spoke through his sobs but was unable to hear what she had said.

"It is not important." Clare stated, shaking her head to oust those thoughts. "Well… Do you want to play? I still remember some of the games, so if you want…"

Looking up at her for a moment, as if not believing her at first, the boy suddenly jumped up. "Sure! Do you know how to play Warrior?"

She had to keep herself from laughing as the boy jumped at the offer. She had little doubts now that he was the yoma. "I know a little… Say what's your name? I'm Clare."

"Raki! Now do you want to be the monster or the hero?" He stated enthusiastically, probably having a lot of pent up energy as he was still just a kid.

This time Clare did laugh before shaking her head. She no clue how this game worked, but she had a good feeling. However, seeing he was looking at her with a funny glance, she took a step back. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. It is just… You look like an angel when you were laughing." Raki responded nonchalantly as he still gazed at her.

At this, Clare blushed furiously and her entire face became beat red. She simply wasn't use to complements like that!

Watching from above, Irene stood not too far behind where she had been earlier. The girl had pour detection ability otherwise she would have sensed her. However, it mattered not as the platinum warrior grinned. Despite how frustrated she got, she was making head way.

Now all she had to do was confront the yoma before it was too late.

* * *

"Whew… That was a work out." Clare panted as she threw away her stick and dusted some of the dirt off her cloak, having to put it on for some padding as she allowed the boy to hit her a few times. And he could her hard with that stick. She just could imagine what he would do with a sword.

Glancing at her surroundings, she was rather surprised that they had moved this far from the central square. They were now near the mines, just inside the village and that was rather startling. Had she really been that involved in playing that she lost track of her surroundings?

Looking for a spot to sit, she leaned up against the arc of the village exit before yawning to show she was tired. Follow her example, Raki joined her and sat at her side before sighing. "It has been a while since I got to play like that… You know you are pretty good! I couldn't see you move at times."

Keeping her face stoic as she refrained from grimacing, hearing she wasn't restraining her abilities as well as she had hoped, Clare only smiled at him to keep from showing what she was thinking of. "I was trained by my master for about six years. I guess it really has paid off."

Giving her an odd look as it was very rare to hear anyone that trained for combat, much less a girl unless they were a Claymore, Raki tilted his head. "Training? What kind of training?"

Giving off a thoughtful look as she searched for the right words, Clare noticed that the boy's older brother in the distance. Narrowing her eyes for only a moment, she sighed as she closed her yes. "My family… They were killed before me by a yoma. The Claymore that was suppose to slay it got there too late…"

"I was kicked out of my village, the villagers believing I could become a yoma, and I wandered the land until yet another yoma found me and decided to use me like a toy. …Yet again I was rescued by a Claymore. I followed her for as long as I could until we finally understood one another. It was then I met my teacher… A powerful man that could slay yoma and even find them while they were disguised." Clare told her story to Raki, her voice filled with sorrow.

"He taught and trained me how to slay yoma so that one day I would be able to take his torch and continue his work saving people without charge. …But he died before he could teach me everything so I don't know if I can really slay a yoma on my own yet." She finished her story and opened her eyes, seeing that Raki's older brother was still out of ear shot.

She could tell the young boy was caught off guard by her story and felt it was similar to his own, at least how it started and it very well could end like hers if she was right. "Please… Don't tell anyone about what I said. …I wish for it to remain a secret."

"Raki!" The elder brother yelled as he finally saw him sitting next to a stranger. "I told you to wait out by the elder's place, not wander off!"

"Sorry Zaki!" Raki responded, jumping up and running over to his brother. "I met this nice girl and I kind of got distracted as we played together."

Looking over at the girl in question, noticing she hadn't moved when Raki jumped up, he frowned for a moment before nodding. "I thank you for looking after my brother for me. He is a handful and at times gets into trouble."

Nodding as she picked herself off the ground, groggily as she acted tired from playing with Raki. "It is no problem and he is a good kid… He reminds me a lot of my brother."

At this, Raki's eyes shot up before his face fell as he remembered her story. Zaki simply nodded as it wasn't too uncommon for a girl around his age to lose her family. It, however, was odd that she had not been picked up by the Claymores as they had a tendency of picking up young orphaned girls.

"We have to get going… I hope your night is pleasant." As he turned to leave, he hesitated to let his younger brother say his goodbye as he could see he rather liked the girl.

"I guess we have to go… It was nice being with you and I hope we meet again." Raki said woefully, upset that he probably would never get to see her again after today.

Clare shook her head as she knelt down and brightly smiled at him. "We'll meet again, I'm sure of it. So until then, stay out of trouble for me."

Standing back up, her gaze fell back onto Zaki and her eyes became deathly serious. "So I am to assume they've called on a Claymore?"

"She's already here." Zaki nodded before he started to head back into town, Raki trailing him.

Frowning as the warrior must have been right in this area to answer so quickly, Clare moved outside the village gates and jumped onto the wall followed by the building beside it. Keeping the two in sight, she traveled silently and swiftly on the roof tops. She would have to act fast and get to the yoma first.

Otherwise she would not be on time to save a life.

* * *

It was dark and now Clare sat on top of the house Raki lived. So far there had been no activity as she had not heard anything from below. Her eyes were closed as she focused all her energy into listening to what was going on.

Zaki… It seemed he had not eaten since their parents had died. That was a clear indicator that he was the yoma, but she did not act until he made a move. She would have taken care of him like Naruto would, but… She didn't want to hurt Raki and make him believe, even if it was only for a moment, that she had killed his brother.

No… She would wait until he turned.

"What are you doing up here?" A voice caught Clare off guard, forcing her eyes to snap open as she twirled around with a kunai in hand.

Before her was the warrior that the village had call upon, her claymore drawn and pointed at her. Her face was twisted in confusion as if she was trying to figure something out as she sensed no yoki within this one yet moved like one of them.

Seeing there was no response, she narrowed her eyes and held her sword ready to strike. "I want an answer now, if you would. And put down your blade, you stand no chance against me."

Clare immediately looked at her symbol, making sure it wasn't one of the higher rank symbols she had been reported on. Seeing she didn't recognize it as it was shaped like a cross with a beam bent in a V-shape and two marks on each that pointed upwards yet did not cut through the cross, the two on the outside being slightly longer.

"So you say." Clare responded as before with a twist of her cloak, she disappeared.

Elena looked on in shock at first before jumping from the roof top as she sensed movement behind her. Turning, she saw Clare land where she had been before now with two blades in her hands, looking down at her. Growling as she looked up at the girl, she growled before leaping towards her, her blade arcing for her stomach.

Flipping over her opponent as she reached her, Clare turned in mid air as she fell to the ground below and threw both kunai straight at her opponent. They were simply blocked as the warrior turned and deflected them but their purpose was served. She had landed and with one swift motion, she revealed a katana she hid behind her cloak while her other hand drew three shuriken.

"If you wish to fight, then come. I do not have time to deal with you." Clare stated, holding the warrior's eyes matching her stare with equal intensity.

"Screw you! You might be good but you are still no match for us!" Elena yelled, using the speed and strength she possessed to rocket towards her opponent.

With a single slash she deflected the three shuriken and before she landed, she brought her sword down upon her opponent. Her opponent rolled out of the way just in time and without giving any time to remove her sword from the ground, she struck, attempting to slice through her stomach.

Despite the lack of time to avoid, Elena managed to avoid the blade by taking a step back and sucking in her stomach. It was obvious her opponent wasn't going for a death strike, looking to avoid killing her. She would make her pay as that was a big mistake.

Removing her blade from the earth, Clare avoided the upward slice and ducked under the blade, spun and kicked Elena in the gut. In the same motion, she spun again and cut for her chest. The warrior was able to bring her claymore to defend against it forcing her to bring it back, knowing her sword would break if caught in a struggle with the blades they wielded.

Using this action, Elena used the vacated space to bring her blade down. Clare, however, slipped to her left and stabbed at her and forced her to arm bracer to reflect the blow, making the girl stumble. Seeing an opening, she thrusted her blade to her stomach to end this, but not to kill her.

At the last second, Clare managed to flip over the blade and as she could see her opponent once more, she threw three shuriken she had drawn out.

'What? When did she draw them?' Elena screamed in her mind as there was no time to dodge and her only means of deflecting them.

They pierced into the flesh of her left bicep, shoulder and her breast. The two in her bicep and breast weren't bothersome as they were only flesh wounds but the one that hit her shoulder pierced bone. Grimacing as she pulled the three out, she glanced over at her opponent as she gave her time to pick them out… She was toying with her!

"God dammit! Don't fuck with me!" Elena screamed as her eyes began glowing and her face began to distort before she sped towards Clare.

Her speed had almost tripled from what it was before and Clare had almost no time to dodge the downward strike aimed to cleave her in two. She had no choice and used her katana to stop the claymore from succeed in its goal.

Gritting her teeth as in no time she began to buckle from the strength Elena was putting into breaking through her block. Falling to a knee as she gripped the sharp end of her katana to strengthen her hold, Clare gazed up and into Elena's eyes as she searched for anything that would get her out of this situation.

A loud scream from the Raki's house caught both of their attention and they immediately knew what the cause of it was.

In this moment, Elena's attention faltered as did her strength. And with that lapse of focus, Clare reflected the sword and jumped up, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her into eye contact.

"Kanashibari." Elena's entire body froze, unable to move even a finger.

Seeing the jutsu had worked, Clare broke contact and rushed towards the house, breaking down the door and entering. In that exact moment, she was nearly knocked over as Raki ran into her. Instead, she was just able to get the katana away as it nearly had stabbed him.

The said boy realized he had ran into someone, looked up and saw Clare standing before him. He would have been overjoyed if it had not been for the situation. As it was, he was utterly fearful at what he had seen. "Zaki… Zaki… He turn…"

Clare didn't need any explanations. She already knew what had happened and the trail of blood told the story. The yoma probably sensed the fighting and took advantage of the situation to get a quick meal before fleeing. Cursing at her own stupidly for getting caught in such a pointless fight, she snarled as she had let another lose their entire family.

And as the said yoma rounded the corner, he caught Clare's snarl and pushing Raki out of the way. He move towards her to add another meal to his night but failed to notice her hands forming symbols of some sort and the fact he was in a narrow passage way.

"Katon: Gokakyu!"

A great burst of flame came from Clare's mouth as she blew them onto the yoma. An unearthly screech filled the air as the scorching flames only matched the heated rage she felt at the moment. She wished she could make them burn hotter… burn more intensely!

Her necklace began to glow brightly at the ferocity her will and the fire seemingly doubled in size in heat and filled the entire house, everything in its path withering to ash.

It seemed all over as Clare stopped blowing the flames, letting the fire do its work. But as soon as she let the flames go, the yoma burst through them, its green skinned now ashen from the burns it had received. Yet it stopped in its tracks as her arm swept by its neck.

In the next moment, its head fell from its body and the body collapsed soon after, purple blood spewing from the open neck. Without mercy as the head was still alive, Clare put her sword through the head and cut it into two clean pieces before kicking them away.

Watching the flames burn down the house, Clare deeply sighed as she turned to the distressed Raki, looking at her fearfully. Sighing as that was to be expected after seeing what she had just done to the place he had been living in and to the yoma that killed yet another member of his family.

Kneeling down next to him, she gathered him into a tight embrace as she placed her head on top of his and whispered. "It's okay… Everything will be okay in time."

The boy did not responded positively. He jerked back and broke Clare's grip, making the girl wince as she saw his still fearful face. It pained her to see the same face that was so joyful early look as it did now and she wanted nothing more then to make him smile again.

"Clare!" Teresa's voice reached her as she jumped down and next to the girl. "We need to go. Your little show will wake the entire town to see what happened and it won't be long until the paralyzation wears off! We can't be here for that!"

Seeing that Clare wasn't responding and instead looking at the boy, Irene sighed at the scene, having watched the two play earlier just before Teresa came back, her pursuit of Naruto having been fruitless. She knew Clare had felt for the boy, his life had already begun to shape out like her own.

But before she could say anything about it, Teresa grabbed Clare's arm and lifted her up. "Come on! We have to go. He belongs in this village. Someone will take care of him."

This time Clare nodded and followed Teresa and Irene as they used the roof tops to make their escape, but looked back to see if Raki was still there. And there he was… Crying.

Seeing this… Clare's heart called out for him but she was pulled back into reality. "Clare! We need to keep moving! If that warrior sees us, who knows what will happen!"

Once more, Clare simply nodded and followed her mother and guardian. But this time a lone tear treaded down her face as she looked back.

"Raki… I'm so sorry."

* * *

"Well… It seems like she succeed. I can't sense the damn thing anywhere." Naruto commented as he moved through the village, checking in on how Clare did before he saw the burnt house. "Well that was a little unnecessary…"

Shaking his head as he didn't know the facts of what happened a few nights before, the blonde sighed and decided to make a quick stop at the bar to see if they had anything good to drink. He was still fine on sake… He just liked to always be in constant stock of certain drinks in case someone asked for a particular kind and to see if they had anything he never heard of before. Most of the time it was Teresa that asked him… They had become good drinking buddies.

As he made his way there, a commotion caught his attention as a young boy was suddenly thrown out a house. This set off many alarms and he immediately moved to get closer as a few elder men walked out behind the boy, the one in the middle roughly grabbing the young boy. "Come on brat. You're no longer wanted here."

Narrowing his eyes as he got closer, wondering what was going on, he watched the young boy break the man's grip and in turn he back handed him, knocking the kid to the ground before he rose his foot, ready to kick him. "Fucking kid! We exiled you so just leave!"

His foot never reached the boy. Instead he felt a tug on his arm before he was suddenly flung into the air and skidding across the ground, almost fifty feet from where he had been moments before.

Standing by the down child stood Naruto, a snarl written on his face. "So I'm safe to assume… A member of this boy's family was a yoma? And now that it is gone, you think he'll become one?"

He dared anyone to speak. He wanted someone to speak. Yet it seemed everyone stood back as they knew there was something off about him… Mainly because he threw the guy fifty feet in the air without much effort.

Glancing over everyone that had gathered, Naruto spat on the ground before looking back over at the men he saw exit the room with the kid. "Disgusting… Is there no one here that wants anything to do with this boy?"

Seeing no one respond, Naruto growled under his breath as this felt so much like his life before everyone began to see him for who he was, he spoke yet again, this time in a more calm but as deathly tone. "Then he is mine. Lay a hand on him, and I will break it."

Turning from the crowd that gathered, he knelt down before offering the brown haired boy his hand. "Can you still walk?"

Looking at the young man that had stood up for him, and claimed him, he was unsure what to say at first. …But after everything that happened, this man was offering to take care of him. "Yes…"

Without warning as he was lifted up, the sand swirled around them and in an instant they were no longer in the village. He looked around him, trying to solve what had just happened when he caught a canteen on reflex. "Better drink some of that. We have a long trip ahead."

Knowing that the man before him was the cause of the sudden shift of scenery, he could only nod. "Thank you sir…"

"Naruto. Just call me that, please." The blonde responded, never having liked be called sir or anything like that. It just always made him feel uncomfortable.

"Naruto… Thank you. I'm Raki." The brunette said, though still in a down trodden voice. "I don't even now you that met yet you already remind me of that girl that came to village a couple days ago…"

Stopping as he heard that, Naruto grinned before he popped a cork out of his bottle of sake, Raki unsure where it had came from. "Did this girl… By any chance have long, brown hair that is a lighter color of yours, where a white cape with blue flames and have dazzling emerald eyes?"

Raki stopped as he heard Naruto's description of the girl. It fit perfectly of the girl he had just met only days before. "Yes…! Do you know her by any chance? …I would like to tell her thanks for what she did for me."

Hiding his grin underneath the collar of his cloak, Naruto took a swig of his rice wine. "Ah, it just keeps getting better and better…"

And with that comment hidden by his drink, Naruto began to head further south, Raki suddenly chasing after him. 'Ah, the wonders of love. They never seize to amaze me.'

* * *

**A/N2**: And there is the latest chapter of a Red Dawn. I actually like this chapter, though I do feel the emotion suddenly shifts very quickly a few times. Nonetheless, I do hope you enjoyed it.

As you probably have noticed, I'm back to following the Claymore plot again. I'm doing this so that I can have certain encounters with some of the main characters of Claymore, as you will see the next couple of chapters. I'm going to keep original and tell the story in a new way, one that doesn't focus on the manga plot but more on Naruto.

If you didn't already notice, I was trying to capture a gennin feel to it with Clare. Seeing as that would be what she is if she was in the Naruto world, despite her age, I thought it would be apt to have her act a little childish. As for Teresa pulling her away from Raki like she did, she didn't know otherwise she would have taken him with them. That was the purpose of her leaving for that time, more then anything as I wanted Naruto to pick up Raki.

I had always planned on Raki being picked up, as I've always seen him as a crucial role in the Claymore world. In the manga that is especially true as he still seeking Clare, who is seeking him, and for a time had placate Priscilla with his presence. While in this story he is going to be a minor role, I still couldn't have a story in the Claymore world without him.

The thing about being able to detect yoma in disguise is made up, if you didn't already know that. I was just looking for a plausible theory that could allow someone that isn't a warrior, or an experienced ninja, to find them... Without having someone point them out. Once again, it was just for chapter development.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have any questions about it or you just want to drop in and say hi, leave a review and I'll get back to you... Maybe.

Oh, also want to announce that I'm going to slowly shift from Naruto to Claymore and start writing pure Claymore stories with a few crossover. I already have a few ideas, at least two on my profile and I have a few others that I'm ready to start on. So for those that like Claymore genre, I suggest you look out for them. I know My Bloody Love (a Raki/Priscilla One-Shot) came out along with this chapter, so check it out if you want.

Peace Out.


	14. The Slashers

**A/N**: Hey everyone, this is a pretty quick update but I started writing it almost soon after I finished the last chapter. I must inform you, the events in these next two chapters are actually flipped in order, or at least that is how it is going to seem. They more or less happen at the same time, so no complaining about mixing up the events please. I know what order they occurred in, but this is fanfiction and it makes more sense with how I have this planned.

Now here is the next chapter, the Slashers.

* * *

Raki had to admit, the change of scenery was very nice.

From the blistering heat waves of the sand to the cool, gentle breeze of the forest they were walking through was far nicer. It also seemed that the animals here were plentiful having seen a few herd of deer, a group of mountain goats, two or three cougars and even a black bear, eating the berries it found on a tree.

It was just at the moment his stomach growled so loudly that Naruto had to turn around and look for what caused the noise. He, however, chuckled softly before flicking an apple over towards him. "Here. That should hold you for a while. We're almost there anyways."

Biting into the apple after nodding, he was surprised at how sweet it actually was. His head was swirling for a moment and he nearly lost balance as the taste was absolutely wonderful. Looking at the apple in sheer awe for a moment, Raki tore into and a moment later it was gone.

"Talk about not savoring the flavor…" Naruto mumbled as he shook his head, repressing the laughter he felt bubbling within. His reaction was similar to his own when he first ate one of Luciela's apples. How she made them so sweet, he'll never know… Or want to know at that.

"Say… I know this is a little late to be asking, but where are we going?" Raki asked, having been too distracted in keep up with Naruto as the pace he walked was rather quick and he had difficulty keeping with him.

Hearing humming in the distance, figuring that she already knew he was heading her direction, Naruto smiled softly before sighing contently. "Ah yes. We happen to be heading to one of my girlfriend's places. She owns much of the land here in the south… However I must warn you, do not get on her bad side. …She has a severe temperament and switch from blissfully happy to murderous psycho in one sentence."

"That is because you say something that pisses me off." Luciela stated, appearing out of nowhere and nearly crushed Naruto with her embrace. "And welcome home my love! Now who is this? …I thought I told you to stop adopting orphans!"

Watching how quickly she went from lovey-dovey to rather irritated, Raki was quite sure Naruto was right. She seemed to have rapidly changing mood swings and they seemed to be directed completely at the blonde.

Crossing his arms across his chest and raising an eyebrow at Luciela, Naruto rolled his eyes. "Clare doesn't count, so this would be the first one I brought back… Now promise you will contain yourself around him."

Luciela huffed as she glanced at Raki, looking over him for a moment, before turning her gaze back onto Naruto as she frowned. "Like I have a choice. I already can't eat in front of the girl and seeing he is human, I really doubt he be too accepting to my feeding habits to begin with."

Confused to the conversation that was going on, Raki was about to speak when Luciela turned to him. "However, I do believe he has the right to choose not to stay here with me… One who devours the flesh of humans."

Stumbling back, frightened at what he just heard, Raki nearly fell on off his feet when he fell back into a tree. "You're a… You're a yoma!"

"I am not." Luciela responded, her eyes glowing silver at the comparison to such a lowly creature, "I use to be a warrior, a Claymore as you call them… When a Claymore uses their yoma power to their fullest extent, they become a being far different from a yoma but possess their lust for human flesh."

Moving next to Raki's side, offering him his hand, Naruto knelt down beside him and smiled. "You don't have to worry about her coming after you or anyone you know or care for. She has regained her humanity and only eats rarely and she never eats good people…"

"Not much of a choice there either… Otherwise you would leave me." Luciela grumbled, glaring at Naruto as she would have liked to eat a little more then what she had been reduced to.

Ignoring her as she wasn't exactly helping at the moment, Naruto continued. "She is very calm and kind, despite her tough appearance and nothing like a yoma. She'll treat you far better then those back at that village would… She is more accepting then they are, just like both Clare and myself and wouldn't harm a hair on your head."

Raki was still frightened, there was no hiding that, but part of him understood what Naruto was trying to convey. But it was so hard to believe that a yoma, or whatever she was, was so… So human.

As if to respond to this thought, Luciela walked over and stood by Naruto, looking down at Raki with a tilted head and mustering a soft, caring voice, something she almost never used. "I'm nothing like those yoma. I don't go out seek to destroy families, making the ones left behind suffer. …I too, have someone I deeply care for that was taken from me by these damnable powers. I want nothing more then her to be back beside me."

Gazing at her, listening to what she had said, Raki felt… He felt like he could relate to this woman. Her pain was real and so similar to his own. And even if she was a monster, by the definition of the word, for what she ate… She was still, at least in his mind, human.

Not comfortable by his gaze, Luciela took a step back and winced as she wasn't use to such looks. But as he took Naruto's hand and was helped up, she smiled and brushed some bangs out of her face. "So I assume you are okay with living here with me?"

As he nodded, she turned to Naruto and gave him what he assumed to be a lustful grin. "Now… As much as I want you to stay here with me so I may ravish you, I have a job for you… One to collect a few more warriors for our cause."

"Where the hell do you keep getting this information?" Naruto question, really beginning to wonder how Luciela knew of everything that seemed to be going on the island continent. He had his suspicions but with nothing to back them up, he really couldn't say what they were.

Luciela only shook her head, not bothering with an explanation as she went onto the details of the job. "I've been hearing about these strange occurrences among the warriors this generation. Apparently a few have seemingly bypassed their limits yet somehow have managed to keep their humanity and not awaken."

"Well now, isn't that interesting." Naruto commented as that was certainly an anomaly for them. "Hey, they might be able to help me perfect the seal that stifles awakening. I'm not sure how long the one I placed will last on her as she struggles when she goes over thirty percent."

"I was thinking along those lines as well, but I know at least one of them has a deep hatred for the organization. …I am unsure where it stems from, but we could use her to get out of here." Luciela added before she frowned a little. "However, it seems the organization either has deemed these particular individuals as threats or knows we are after them and is about to send them on an Awaken hunt in the east that will lead to their deaths."

"So basically you want me to study them, find out how they are able to go over there limits and return, make sure they survive and recruit them to our reserves." Naruto reiterated for clarification, hoping he had everything down pat.

"Oh! And if you can pick me up a meal, I would be so happy." Luciela grinned as she hung from his shoulders, breathing heatedly onto his ear making Naruto shudder at the way she said it. It wasn't that she was blood lusting or anything… Well, she was lusting…

It was at this moment Teresa decided to arrive, looking like she was searching for something. However, soon as she saw this scene, her eyes began twitching before she finally rolled her eyes. "Is everything just blood and sex with you? You can be talking about something that doesn't have to deal with either then the moment be lusting all over him, talking about feasting on some pour unfortunate soul."

Luciela began twitching at Teresa's arrival and growled at her. "Would you watch your language? There is kid here! You got on me about saying sexual things around Clare but when you say it is all fine!"

"That is because, he is a boy." Teresa pointed over at Raki, not even realizing he was the same kid that Clare had embraced before she pulled her out of the village. "And I have no issue saying anything in front of him as I'm not his foster parent… As what I can see, Naruto is."

Throwing up her hands in the air, entirely too frustrated to deal with Teresa at the moment, Luciela stormed away, determined to head to her garden that always calmed her down.

Smirking as she watched Luciela marched off in frustration; Teresa shook her head as she turned to Naruto. "Do you by any chance know where Clare went? I was looking for her as I was going to take her to a village just south of here to point out a few flaws I saw in her fights a few nights ago."

"Fights? Okay, start explaining. I need to be filled in on a few things anyways." Naruto responded; interested in what happened as he wasn't available to evaluate Clare's performance as he had a more important mission in the north.

"It took her some time to find the yoma and she waited to make sure it was. The warrior the village called for arrived at that time and she notice Clare acting oddly and the two fought, Clare winning but just barely." Teresa recapped what had happened before being interrupted.

"Must have been Elena or another in the low forties otherwise Clare would have been beaten silly." Naruto muttered in response, knowing Clare was no where near the strength to last in a bout against a warrior with moderate strength.

Thinking for a moment, the name registering for a moment, Teresa nodded. "Yeah, it was Elena. I didn't recognize her at first as she seemed a little stronger then before. …Anyways, Clare only won their battle as they were both distracted by the yoma slaying… Oh shit! That is the same boy!"

Looking over at Raki for a moment, Naruto groaned and rubbed his temple. "Yes… He happened to be exiled from his village just as I got there. Now if you would."

Snapping out of her trance, Teresa turned from Raki and grimaced as she realized why Clare had been so down when they came back. "Well, because of that she was able to catch Elena in that paralyzing technique and moved to take out the yoma. What she saw must have pissed her off as she let loose her emotions with a huge flame and burned the house down before slicing the yoma's head off as he survived the flame."

"Her actions caught the village's attention and because of that I had to pull her out swiftly… I didn't think about what would happen to him as I thought someone would take care of him. …But still, why did you bring him here? Wouldn't he be better off in another village?" Teresa put the blame on herself before questioning Naruto's motives.

"And what, have another yoma possibly ruin his life?" Naruto fired back, giving Teresa a challenging glare as he was not in the mood to be tested at the moment. "I brought him with me as I see a lot of myself in him and I know for a fact Clare spent a lot of time with him and feels the same."

"Now, as for where Clare is… I do know where she is. I had told Irene once Clare came back and got a day's rest to take her to Rabona to slay the yoma there to work on her stealth." Naruto informed Teresa, who know looked irate as she wasn't told of any of this before hand.

However, Naruto moved by her and to Raki and patting his shoulder. "And if you would, take Raki with you when you go. Where I'm heading I can't take him and I'm not exactly going to leave him here with Luciela yet as he knows what she is and doesn't exactly trust her. …Raki, I'll see you later. Teresa will take you to Clare."

Growling as the blonde was blowing her off, something he had been doing lately, and it was pissing her off. But despite her anger, she huffed and turned to Raki. "Are you good for another few days of walking? Irene and Clare are most likely already at Rabona, so we need to hurry if we are to get there."

Nodding as meeting Clare again was something she had promised him; Raki checked his canteen to make sure it was full. "I'm ready. I might have to fill up my canteen soon though. I only have a few more swallows left."

"We'll refill it at the creek just a little ways north." Teresa stated as she nodded north before stepping in front of him, taking the lead as she so normally did. "I would normally teleport us there, but I haven't learned how to take another along with me with both getting really sick."

"Oh, so you can use the trick Naruto used to?" Raki stated as he followed, Teresa sighing and shaking her head having a bad feeling about this.

Naruto grinned as Raki talked his ear off about Clare when they had stopped. Shaking his head, he was about to head out himself when a certain awaken slunk towards him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "My lovely soldier boy… Heading out so soon?"

"You're high, aren't you?" Naruto stated as he looked into Luciela's slightly glazed eyes as well as smelling the smoke coming off her.

"You're good looking." She responded immediately, hanging off of him with a brightest smile on her face. "I'm kind of hungry now… May I chew on you for a while?"

At the sound of her voice, Naruto became a deep scarlet from the way she had said. …It was very similar to her lusting tone from before. So was she suggesting…?

Luciela just continued smiling, closing her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder, content.

* * *

"Okay… Now she did tell me it was this town." Naruto stated as he covered himself with a brown cloak hiding most of his face before placing an old Anbu mask, a present Kakashi gave him, over his face.

He didn't want to wear his Akatsuki cloak as that would be a dead giveaway to who he was. So far the organization seemed to have no interest in him, probably due to his connection with Luciela, but that didn't mean they weren't keeping tabs on him. So he had to disguise himself, or at least cover his appearance, to lessen the chance he would be spotted.

Nonetheless, he had to keep low key as he was going to be spying on the group of warriors he could sense within the perimeter. It wouldn't too difficult unless one happened to be God Eye Galatea… Then he was mostly screwed. That warrior could sense him before he even could catch a glimpse of her presence.

Her range was absurd, making Karin's look pitiful and the only way he could get by it was through a special seal that completely suppressed his signature. The reason he didn't like using it was that it also repressed his chakra and made it virtually impossible to use.

Naruto was sure she wasn't among the four that as he could feel how much they posed. He immediately picked out three as abnormal as, despite the amount they possessed, their yoki was extraordinarily potent and felt more untamed, somewhat like Kyuubi's. But the fourth…

"Ah dammit. Elena is the fourth member." Naruto mumbled under his breath as he spotted the four, exiting a tavern before a realization dawned on him. "Shit! They must know that I've been in contact with Elena. Why else would they send her out on a suicide mission?"

Cursing as Elena was the one he was testing his awakening repulsion seal and he needed to see how it was working, he sighed. This would be a little more troublesome as he rather needed Elena after finding her struggling to keep her mind.

And to make matters worse, the god of misfortune wanted to mess with him today as Elena turned into his direction. And of course, wouldn't you know it, she recognized him despite covering his features, masking his presence and wearing a damn mask! What were the odds?

"Naruto!" Elena called as she realized who he was and ran over towards him.

Berating himself for his attire, figuring it was rather obvious that he would be wearing such a thing, he turned to Elena's direct and plucked his mask off. His eyebrow was twitching madly as he sternly looked her in the eyes. "Alright, what the hell do you want? As you can kind of see, I'm not here to be noticed!"

Elena stepped back as Naruto silently yelled at her, she grimaced as she immediately caught what she did to piss him off. He didn't want to be discovered and now she just blew his cover when she called out his named. "Sorry… I was just hoping that…"

"Let's talk somewhere else." Naruto stated as he noted that the other three warriors' attention had been brought upon. "I rather not speak about anything that can be reported back to them."

Glancing back towards her partners for the awaken hunt, Elena figured Naruto was worried about anything he had to say being told to one of their handlers and getting back to the organization… She rather the organization did not learn of the seal placed upon her that, at least for now, was keeping her humanity.

Heading towards Mira, Deneve and Helen, Elena stopped before motioning her head towards Naruto, letting them know what she was doing. "I need a moment to talk to him alone, so I'm going to get a room."

Miria nodded as she gazed over at Naruto, her eyebrow rising for a moment. However, Helen looked over at him for a moment then looked back at Elena, sizing the two before grinning. "Ah! I think I see… He's your little toy, isn't he?"

Naruto twitched as he heard that clear as day. Did she just call him…? Oh, she wasn't going to get away with that! He was no ones toy regardless of whatever the meaning behind it meant.

Forming a single seal behind him as his eyebrow twitched, Naruto removed his hand from behind him and turned away from the group. "Elena, let's go. I have somewhere to be."

Chasing after him as he moved to the inn to borrow a room for a moment, Helen grinned as she knew she was right. But that was very odd when all that sand swirled around her… And what in the world was that crackling noise?

Being unable to decipher where the sound was coming from, Helen finally looked up before her eyes widened. There was a gigantic, no, immense fire ball descending down towards her and her to partners. Without second thought, Helen jumped and rolled away from the falling ball flames only to see it crash down upon both her comrades.

But before she could scream out their names, the flames seemingly dissolved into nothingness, leaving both Miria and Deneve looking at her confused. Finally the latter of the two spoke, looking at her friend oddly. "Helen… What was that for?"

Looking at Deneve if she was insane, Helen pointed up to the sky as her mouth gaped. "But… But didn't you see that fire fuck ball coming down from the sky too?"

Sighing at her old friend as Miria only raised her eyebrow once more; Deneve shook her head and walked over to Helen. "I think you are just hallucinating and saw the sun crash down onto us. We would have noticed if that were to happen."

"But I swear I saw it!" Helen yelled back, sure of what she had seen despite her best friend not believing her.

Within the hotel, Naruto felt a little better having heard Helen. Justice had been served, for now at least.

Shaking his head of that, his sight turned back onto Elena as she entered the room, giving him a strange look as she too had heard Helen, the warrior being quite loud. "If I had to guess…"

"You would be right." Naruto responded before she could finish, looking playful for a moment until his gaze become more harden before he spoke again. "Now, what is it that you want? If it is to check the seal, fine but I haven't made any improvements on it. That is part of the reason I am here."

"It's not that. The seal is holding up fine and I can even use my yoki up to thirty percent without feeling like I'm losing control." Elena told Naruto, having tested her new limits but was glad to hear that was a reason he was here, "But there was something odd that happened almost a week ago now. I ran into a girl in a small town… Her skills far above what anyone other then another warrior should be capable of."

Snapping his fingers, glad that he was correct, Naruto chuckled as he shook his head. "She would be my current student. From what I've heard, she got lucky against you though… Which means your strength has dramatically improved as I was sure when we first met, Clare could defeat you."

At first, Elena was rather stunned hearing there was another normal within their world that could slay yoma. Then she became very flattered as he complemented her strength, something she as all warriors did, prided themselves in. "T-thank you… But she still defeated me."

"Only on technicality. You were both distracted by the yoma, however you were further distracted as it is your job to slay yoma and that took priority. She took advantage and used a technique the specifically targets the opponents nerves and neutralizes movement for a few moments. Otherwise, from what I heard, you would have won." Naruto explained, attempting to puff her pride a little as he had a feeling the one that made that comment about him was going to tear Elena down along the way due to her rank being forty-seven.

Blushing as she normally was never given this many complements, Elena would have had said something else but Naruto immediately stood up and moved to the door. Looking at it for a moment, he sighed before he kicked it open… And right into Helen's face. "What are you doing here? This is a private conversation, not some sort of sexual fantasy as you seem to think it might be."

Helen cursed up a storm as she began to rub her face furiously, a bright red mark left in center of her face, focusing around the nose. "Ow! What the hell is that for? I was just checking on her to make sure you didn't try anything funny!"

"Ha. You're worried about another warrior being taken advantage of by a normal person? Convincing excuse." Naruto commented, glaring at Helen for she was beginning to grate on his nerves.

Growling at him, feeling equally annoyed by his presence as he was of her, Helen gazed right back into his eyes. "Alright, so what? There isn't a damn thing you can do about it. If I want to hear what she wanted to talk to you in private for, there isn't anything either of you can do about it as you both are weaker then me."

That did. No one belittled him any longer. He was the leader of the dawn, one of the strongest shinobi on the planet and he wasn't in a good mood. Naruto snapped and grabbed her arm as she attempted to shove him away, showing off her superiority.

In an instant, Helen was thrown through the window and came crashing down in the middle of the street, forming a formidable crater despite the short distance she had been thrown. Both Deneve and Miria reacted immediately and came onto the scene, shocked seeing their comrade pulling herself from the caved ground.

However, Miria nearly froze as she looked into the broken window to see the same blonde Elena had wanted a private conversation with now wearing a black cloak with very notable red cloud pattern. Her entire body tensed as she had thought his description seemed familiar but now… Coming face to face with him here?

"It can't be… Why would the Abyssal Warrior be here?" Miria stated, her hand slinking back to her sword's handle just in case he was hostile. She wasn't sure what she could even do if he was, but it was better then going out without a fight.

Looking down at her for a moment, hearing what she had said, Naruto turned back to Elena. "I'm sorry, can you pay the damages for me. I must be going."

Without waiting for a response, Naruto disappeared from all of their vision before suddenly reforming directly behind Miria, his hand gripping her blade to keep it sheathed. "Don't bother, I am no threat. …But that was a very interesting name you called me by? I am guessing that is what the organization came up for me but that makes me wonder… How do they know of my true strength?"

Miria turned her head back, her eyes narrowed as he was no longer there. Scanning the area, she found no trace of his presence before she jerked her head back, feeling pressure on her sword.

Deneve, taking a piece of paper from her sword, frowned for a moment as the style of writing was not to what she was accustomed to. She could still read it so there was no problem there, it was just awkwardly positioned and read. "Huh, what in the world does that mean?"

"What does it say?" Helen asked as she appeared behind Deneve, trying to read it and figure out what the message meant.

"It says… I'm watching you. It doesn't say anything else… So is he just watching us?" Deneve replied, confused as she could sense no one around having seen the blonde vanish in a swirl of sand. So how was he watching them?

Narrowing her eyes for a moment, Miria took the note for herself and read it. Seeing there was no other meaning or anything else to lead to another conclusion, the number six warrior shook her head as she noted Elena exit the inn. "It doesn't matter now. Just keep a close eye on your surroundings. We're heading out."

Not waiting another second, not going to sit and be watched, Miria turned and headed towards the direction of the mountain as their destination was there. The other three quickly followed, stepping in line and keeping pace with Miria.

From the outskirts of town, lying on the roof of some random person's home, Naruto twirled a kunai as he smirked. "I wondered if she even noticed the mark I left on her sword."

* * *

Following the four warriors was rather easy thanks to the seal he had placed on the defacto leader of the four. So he had no difficulty staying out of their sensory range while keeping tabs on them. Of course in order to gather more information on them, he needed to get closer but for now this was fine.

When they had stopped for the night, a lot of pressure was placed on Elena as Helen and even Miria to an extent asked her about him. The good thing was Elena knew absolutely nothing about him other then he was rather powerful and had sealing skills that could repress awakening and yoki bursts, something he was glad she didn't tell him.

After the night, they headed out and into the cannon. Having scouted this area during the night, having sensed the awaken's presence within the area, Naruto found a good little clearing where he could watched the fight from a distance and analyze it before he had to step it.

However, the group was in trouble now as they had found the awaken they had been sent to slay. He was moderately powerful, probably a high single digit or a low teen number when he was a warrior. It was clear he was a defensive type when all his arms had been cut off but before they could even fall they had reattached and struck the annoying warrior.

Elena was in bad shape. She had stepped in and taken a claw to the ribs for Helen after already receiving a previous injury from multiple lances striking her in the chest. Still, her wounds were light compared to what Deneve had received. She had her entire arm ripped off and now even as she was regenerating it, the awakened left a gaping hole in her sternum.

Helen was in the best shape of the double digit warriors. But that wasn't saying much seeing the deep scars left on her back and was out of commission, leaving Miria on her own.

The number six was no longer holding back, releasing her yoki in instantaneous burst to travel so quickly that it was damn near impossible to see her movements. Furthermore it left an after image in the wake of her burst making those who attack the said image believe she was a phantom.

"Now that is living up to your name." Naruto commented as he watched Miria used her 'Phantom Mirage' to appear around the six armed awaken and attack it from every feasible angle. "But that is rather reckless… As of right now, she is unable to land the finishing blow so she is just wasting her power."

Knowing that he would have to intervene soon, Naruto sighed as he leapt down from his tree. Yet before he could move, he would have to undo his suppression seal so he could move quickly and deal with the menace.

Wiping away a piece of the rune he felt the release of his chakra and felt much better as it was freely flowing once. Stretching his muscles, he was about to respond when he caught an anomaly due south of his position. He caught a presence… A very powerful presence. But that was impossible… That was too far for him to feel another's…

Without another thought, Naruto went straight towards the signal he had caught and immediately found what he was looking for. "Well, well… God-Eye Galatea and your handlers… Now why would you two be here?"

The said warrior had drawn her sword, feeling the presence just a moment before as it had appeared within the area. She had sensed an irregular presence before, but thought nothing of it as it was very weak before and if it was anything of worry it would have been a yoma. But now… She felt the entirety of its being and was worried.

In the very next moment, she was forced to catch Ermita as his limp body was tossed to her. "It really doesn't matter. I can't afford either of you interfering with me at the moment, so I'm sorry but I have to put you out of commission."

Dropping her handler, Galatea grimaced as she brought her blade before her, ready to strike at him. However, to her surprised he simply vanished in a cloud of smoke before a hand gripped the back of her neck and a foreign energy began to enter her system.

Gasping as she literally felt the energy began to try and manipulate her, Galatea dropped to her knees as her vision began to blur while her body began to attempt to morph into something… Something that she wasn't suppose to turn into. "You should be able to expel it, but it should give me enough time to get out of here undetected."

Still, not feeling that it was enough, Naruto went through a few hand seals and used a genjutsu he had learned from Yakumo that would impair her senses for a while. It was nothing like she could do, but it would at least stall her when her yoki overcame his sage chakra.

Closing his eyes for a moment, picking up on the seal he placed on Miria, Naruto sighed as he didn't really want to enter like this but now he had no choice. He could sense the four were in trouble and Miria was pinned. So without regard, he was gone in a split second and suddenly was besides Miria in a blink of light.

Without hesitation, instantly catching the situation through the seal's embedded radar, he funneled chakra to his leg and drove it into the male awaken's skull, causing rocks to fall on top of him and create a tomb.

In the very next moment, it found itself driven in the cliff wall as Naruto reached down and picked Miria up, cradling her in his arms. Looking down at her, he grinned as he began moving towards the other three warriors. "Seems like you need some help and I was in the area…"

Miria couldn't believe what had just happened. Just moments ago she was being violated by the awaken's tongue, which created a fourth hole in her stomach to violate her with, and now the Abyssal warrior had appeared before her, knocked the awakened away with a single blow and was carrying her to her comrades.

"What the… What in the fuck just happened?" The male awakened yelled out as he broke his rocky tomb, gazing across the area only to see a lone male taking the Claymore he had been playing with to her equally injured allies.

Growling at this, he lunged straight towards the blonde to make him pay for taking his toy and to get quick meal. But before he could reach him, two other males wearing identical clothing and extraordinarily same features appeared beside him and latched onto his side. He reacted immediately and struck at both of them, but soon as contact had been made…

Two rings of explosion ripped from behind him as Naruto laid Miria down next to Elena, shaking his head as the injured warriors looked up at him in shock as the smoke and debris rose behind him. "You should be more careful… Losing the four of you would make my research in repressing and reverting awakening be for nothing."

The three awake looked at him in shock, Elena somewhat less as he had saved her from awakening, Naruto moved back to his feet as the dust began to settle. Turning back, his cold eyes gaze straight towards the creature only to see the gaping wounds his exploding clones inflicted recover rather quickly.

"Seems you're a defensive type. That means there are only two ways I can kill you." Naruto stated as he drew a single scroll form his pouch, unraveling it and touching the seal.

In that moment a giant claymore like the warriors used appeared from the scroll. Grabbing the hilt, Naruto brought for the great blade as he glanced at the symbol for a moment before glancing at his enemy. "Now, I rather like to get this done quickly as I don't have much time before God-Eye regains her senses."

Naruto rushed by the awakened, who jumped to the side just in time to avoid the strike. But in the same exact moment, the three arms on his right spewed blood and pain ripped through his body. In the next moment, he had jumped up to avoid yet another strike but it was like the last time. His left leg had been severed and as he landed, he screamed in pain.

Spitting on the ground as some of the blood spewed onto his face, Naruto had misjudged his speed. He was a little faster then he estimated and because of that he had failed to take his head each time. Still, it seemed he was on his last leg as his regeneration was going slower then it was before.

But now the awaken could see what he was dealing with. He attempted to move back, a rather difficult chore as he was missing a leg, his entire being beginning to shake. "No… You can't be… You're the toy Luce…"

In the very next moment, before he could finish his statement, blood began to spew from dozens of different locations before his body literally fell apart. Behind the shredded body, Naruto flicked the blood from the blade as he gazed at the corpse. "I am nobody's toy."

Making sure the blade was clean of blood before he sealed it away, the warriors awake could not believe how quickly Naruto had dispatched the monster they had been unable to defeat.

Elena was simply surprised as it seemed what Teresa had said about him being stronger was very possibly true. Miria was still reeling over his second appearance and now with the awakened dispatched, she wasn't sure what to do. Helen… Well she was just glad she got thrown out the window. If that is what he did to people that called him a toy… She got off with a slap on the wrists.

Checking on them as they were too shocked to react, Naruto noted that Elena, Helen and Miria would be okay. Deneve however… Her odds were extremely low. If her wound didn't heal over soon she would die from blood loss and to make the situation worse he had practically no medical knowledge so there was nothing he could do about the situation.

"Crap… This isn't good. I don't suppose any of you know how to heal with your yoki?" Naruto asked as he hovered over Deneve, glancing over at them and hoping they would.

Unfortunately each shook their heads. Groaning as there was nothing that could be done; Naruto stood and moved to help Miria up as she had mostly recovered from her wound. "Then there is nothing that can be done… The only way she is going to get out of this is through her own will power."

Glancing down at Deneve, Miria nodded as that was about what she expected when she examined the short haired warrior before. Still she was rather unnerved from what he had said before slaying the awaken. "What is it that you want with us? We aren't test subject for you to play with."

The anger in her voice was rather predictable. After what he had said, he would have found it difficult to believe that she wouldn't be angry. "I know you have surpassed your limits and were able to return. I was hoping to witness such an act so I could determine how to draw back those who go over their limit and allow them to keep their humanity… And to maybe, just maybe, to revert awakens back to regain their humanity."

Keeping her eye on him as he turned his back and motioned for her to follow, so what was going to be said wouldn't be over heard, Miria did such and soon as they were out of ear shot responded. "Why would you do such a thing? You have no position in the organization and in fact are seen as a danger to them. Why do anything that would help them?"

"I would like to say I'm doing this for a noble cause, like wanting to see the warriors they use keep their humanity… But to be truthful, that is only a side-effect of my goal. …I am building an army of warriors to help me on my quest back to my homeland on a different continent." Naruto stated as he looked back at Miria, checking to make sure Elena or Helen had not followed.

Miria was once more taken aback. He was building an army of warriors… To make it back to his home on another continent. But why would he need such a thing unless… Unless. "The organization is standing in your way."

"They are… As I doubt they would just let me waltz in, give me directions along with a ship and let me leave peaceful. Even if I am a danger to them, I have many abilities they are curious about and more importantly want to implement into their own warriors to make them even stronger." Naruto replied as Miria quickly figured out what his idea in.

Knowing that to be true, Miria could see what he was doing and how it made sense. Most warriors were very loyal; however, that loyalty could only be stretched so far and if one came and offered them the ability to keep them from awakening a good few would jump at it in a heart beat. "So… You are trying to recruit us."

Nodding as that was his purpose, Naruto waited to say anything else before Miria reacted. While she gave no outward sign that she would be aggressive to such an idea, it was still prudent to be cautious. Most warriors could hide their feelings very well and despite their feelings would still fight for the organization.

"Do you… Do you think you can succeed?" Miria asked as she caught the Akatsuki leader off guard as that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.

Recovering after a moment of staring at her, he took a moment to think about whether he could or not before answer. "I would say I have a good chance. I know my strength very well, I already have five warriors within the organization that will stand with me and are waiting for a perfected seal and I even have a few awakens siding with me."

"Awakens?" Miria responded immediately, taking a step back as he had contact with awakens and they had joined his cause…

"As I said with before, I'm researching into keeping warriors from awakening and even trying to _revert_ it. There are those that wish to be human again as they can't stand their lives as it is now. I seek those out and they join my cause, knowing I'm making head way in that direction." Naruto explained in a calm and collected voice.

Still weary of him, Miria dropped her defensive stance as there, at the very least, was a chance that a few warriors awoke yet did not want to. "Are you planning on destroying the organization?"

Gazing at her for a moment, seeing that she in no way was ready to strike him, Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders. "It is a possibility, but one I'm unsure of about right now. I know they will put up a fight when I head east, but for now I don't plan on their destruction."

Frowning at what she heard, Miria closed her eyes as calmed her beating heart. Opening them, her eyes gleamed with a fiery determination. "If you cripple them enough so that I can finish the job… I will follow you."

Raising an eyebrow at her, wondering at first why she seemed so determined to destroy the organization, Naruto's face fell as he gazed at her. "You do realize what the would mean…"

"I do… And I've been battling over whether or not it is the right choice… But I can't stand idle any more when I see a chance to take care of them… They who have done this to us and treat us no better then sacrificial pawns in their game to make the ultimate weapon. …I won't let others go through the pain and suffering I have." Miria stated as she had been digging into the organizations activities and learning why it was creating.

Naruto wasn't really shocked that was their goal. There were always be those who searched for power and would do anything to get it, whether be obtain it by collecting nine beings to create a super being or simply creating it through extensive testing on humans. Hell, there were those that did things far more heinous acts to achieve it.

Shaking his head as he could see that the final warrior was waking, Naruto sighed as he moved beside her. "If you want to follow me, fine but I will guarantee nothing. There are still more important things for me to deal with then them at this moment and I won't go out of my way to seek their destruction."

"However…" Naruto continued as he noted that Elena and Helen were heading towards them, being able to move now, "I would like to know something… I've been searching for who brought me here to this land. …If they have anything to do with it, I may help you achieve your wish. I rather not be brought back to these lands after escaping."

Miria frowned as he wasn't going to promise her anything but if they had anything to do with bring him to this place, as it was obvious he wasn't from here or here on his own free will, he would help her. While she didn't like there was any doubt being left it was acceptable as she could see the organization trying to acquire some of the abilities he possessed.

But before she could say anything else, Helen had made it to them. "Deneve is awake!"

"I know." Naruto commented as he walked by the annoying warrior, which ticked her off but this time she said nothing, and made his way to the downed warrior. "Do you think you can heal over your wound?"

Remembering him from the village, Deneve was on guard before she noted Miria and Helen standing over her as well. Seeing that he wasn't an enemy, at least for now, she closed her eyes and concentrated. "No… Not like this. Even if I release my powers to the limit I wouldn't be able to heal this wound fast enough."

"So how about going over them?" Naruto stated as if it was obvious, making her look at him if he was insane before he continued. "You have done it before, have you not? Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"So it is true?" Miria voiced in response, glancing straight at Naruto for an answer.

Sighing as he didn't want to have to explain this, he pushed his hand through his hair. "From what I know, yes. The four of you were sent here to be put to death as each of you is a risk. …Or that is what I am told, however, I'm not convinced. Outside of you, Elena, the three of you have surpassed your limit at one point and returned. Why would the organization throw away such a soldier?"

Miria immediately caught onto what Naruto had said. "…It doesn't make any sense. From what I heard they have been conducting experiments for warriors to awake yet be brought back through some sort of bond. If we are able to surpass our limits and not turn into yoma, one would thing they bring us in to study us to further their research and…"

Seeing Miria wisely stop speaking, not wanting the other three to know of what she had found, Naruto nodded in agreement. "It doesn't… Unless they don't know. Therefore they simply saw you as problem children and seeked to rid themselves of the four of you. …But that again brings forth another question, why don't they know you have partially awakened."

"Wait, what? I absolutely have not awakened! See! I'm still human!" Helen feverishly denied before pinching her flesh on her arm, showing she still had a human form.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, refraining from reaching out and hitting Helen, Naruto was glad Miria spoke for him. "He doesn't mean we are like the beast we just fought. He simply is stating that we have transcended our normal limits and we have begun to experience… To experience more desires like hunger and other things like it."

"I also have to point out the abilities I witnessed from both of you are on the outer fringes of our power. One shouldn't be able to extend their limbs or regenerate like either of you do with being near or passing their limit. But I bet neither of you had these abilities before you had come close to awakening, am I right?" Miria added, looking straight into Helen's eyes.

Helen would have refuted but she had been rather hungry as of late among other things as of late. She also couldn't refute that she had passed her limit as she knew of no other warrior that regenerate like Deneve or extend their limbs like she could. And it was impossible to argue as the look in Miria's eyes just told her to stop arguing.

Seeing the lack of argument coming from her, Naruto simply nodded before adding onto what he knew. "Also, your yoki has become more potent and wilder then before, possibly causing some of the side effects you may be feeling. Your limits have also now become rather vague and you may never know when you hit them when using your yoki again."

Having listened to enough, Deneve slowly pushed herself onto all fours before gripping her stomach. "I knew of this before… But the way you speak about it, I may be able to do it again… If so, I can reach my limit and regenerate this wound all at once."

"It is a possibility." Naruto replied as he could feel her yoki raging within her, being readied to be drawn forth. "But you could also not turn back this time."

"If that happens… If I'm about to awaken, don't hesitate to kill me!" Deneve screamed as her yoki flashed around her, cracking the rocks and blowing the dust away.

As Miria stepped in to try and stop Deneve, Naruto pushed her back as both Elena and Helen stepped forward with their blades, the latter speaking. "Old friend, if it comes to that I'll let you pass on peacefully."

Deneve's yoki wildly swirled around her, her body morphing into a hideous figure as she drew on all of her yoki at once. Then in a brilliant flash of light and a powerful burst of wind that blew them back, even pushing Naruto back to an extent, they were forced to look away.

Yet as their vision returned, two blades were at Deneve's neck as she laid on the ground. "Geez… I didn't awaken. You didn't have to make it that close."

"Interesting…" Naruto mumbled under his breath as he now had witnessed what he came to see in the first place, plus completing Luciela's mission in the process, "Now that isn't something you see every day. I think I just found something out."

Having all their attention brought onto him as he still looked at Deneve, he broke his stare before turning from them. "I think I understand how they created you now… Humans have energy known as chakra, despite how pathetically low it is in most people in this place. But what I just saw…"

"Before awakening your yoki as you call it isn't pure yoki, not yet at least. Watching you pass your limit like that I was able to see streams of chakra within the yoki burst, being overwhelmed by the more potent and powerful yoma energy. But somehow… You were able to hold onto strands of it and drew them back in." Naruto verbalized what he had observed, narrowing his eyes for a moment.

At first, no one was able to understand what he had said. But it was Elena that first caught the meaning. "So… In essence if one somehow able to keep their human energy… They won't be able to awaken and revert back to normal."

"It seems so. I can't say for sure, but I'll have to run some test after I create a new seal to test my theory… If you would be so willing to be my subject for the test." Naruto responded before glancing over at Elena to gauge if she would be willing for this test.

"I have no objections. You kept me from awakening before so I trust your seal will work." Elena answered, not fearing awakening as she truly believed it would work.

Sighing for a moment, Naruto turned as he reached into his pocket and waved. "Sorry, but I've got to get going now. Elena, Miria… If you wish to speak to me about something, throw these into the ground and I'll be summoned to your side. In any other event, I'll come find you when I'm ready."

Having thrown two awkward kunai at their feet, sticking them into the ground, Naruto became a flicker of light and vanished.

* * *

Appearing in a flicker of light, Naruto groaned as night had set here as he stood before a certain holy city. "Oh this is just wonderful… So I take it the final test has started, hasn't it Irene?"

* * *

**A/N2**: Sorry, but I had to cut it off there for next chapter. This one was already long enough.

There isn't much I can really talk about this chapter for. It wasn't too much of a stretch to make Luciela feel relatable to Raki, as in the manga he travels with Priscilla in the second half of the story. However, getting her high was just for fun and might be a running gag for later use.

Just to make this clear, Elena had a run in with Naruto and Teresa rather recently before the start of this arc. It wasn't important enough to write it before and… And I didn't really know if I wanted to use Elena like I did before this chapter. She is obviously one of the five warriors that have been convinced to join Naruto and Luciela's forces, however, the other four I'm staying silent about for now.

Also, I just felt like Naruto and Helen's personalities would clash against one another into a rather funny string of event and unfortunately I had to cut it short. It was… Too immature really.

I used a lot of the Slasher arc for this end of this chapter and improvised on what needed to be told. And Naruto did use Luciela's blade if anyone wants to know and he will use it again. The fight was rather quick... Well to show the gap between powers and that Naruto was in a hurry.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have any questions or just want to pop in and say HI, leave a review and I'll see what I can answer.

Peace Out.


	15. Training Isn't Enough

**A/N**: I am sorry for all the mistakes last chapter. I was in a rush to update it and I was unable to catch all my mistakes. I think I've fixed them, but we'll see. Anyways, this is the latest chapter so I hope you enjoy, Training isn't Enough… Something More is Needed.

* * *

"Say what now?" Clare yelled as they neared the entrance of the Holy City, Rabona.

Rubbing her temple, wishing that she did not have to do this, Irene glared at Clare as she had to go over it again. "I'm only telling you what I was told. This is a stealth mission, one that you must keep from being detected as you search for the yoma, which is at least three times as strong as the last one. Obviously buying a room and moving through town do not count and you're allowed to be seen then, if you didn't blow your cover already blow your cover."

Looking towards her guardian, her mouth agape, Clare looked at the city and back at Irene multiple times before complaining. "But I have no stealth skills! Naruto never really went over them with me, so I don't know what I'm suppose to do!"

"Never went over them… Girl, did you not pay attention to half of what he taught you?" Irene gazed at Clare incredulously as she had been present for a few lessons and had been briefed on what they covered, mostly because she was around Teresa when Naruto briefed her. "Most of the stuff I saw was about cloak and daggers, how to evade pursuers, slipping behind your enemy… Things ninjas should know!"

"…I guess he did, but I never really did pay attention." Clare admitted which in turn had Irene face fault as she begun regretting she even asked. "I was more focused on how to get more powerful I think I kind of just ignored anything about stealth and espionage unless he tested me on it."

"Most of his training was testing! I don't remember him sitting down with you once! It was all field training!" Irene cried out, ready to strangle the girl in front of her as she was testing her patience… Something that had been declining for the last few years, mostly thanks to Naruto, Teresa and Luciela.

It was at this exact moment when Clare smirked, Irene was ready to use the Quick Sword and decapitate the young girl, Teresa's vengeance be damned. "You were fucking with me this entire time!"

"Of course." Clare grinned as she noted her guardian reaching for her sword but thought nothing of it. "I've been training with Naruto since we've been in the south… I found I liked his sense of humor and I have to agree, annoying people is rather fun."

At this point, Clare jumped to the side as the ground beside her turn into rubble, Irene's hand gripping her sword's hilt. "You have five seconds… Otherwise the next will be on target."

Clare didn't hesitate. She took off and found her way into the holy city. She had forgotten one of the cardinal rules of Naruto's pranking one-o-one. Never push your luck too far.

* * *

"Um excuse me… Do you have a room for the night?" Clare asked the inn keeper, who oddly enough had a mohawk. "Also, if you know any good places to get a drink, I would be most appreciative."

Gazing at her for only a moment, the man nodded as he momentarily checked the keys behind him. "Ah yes… We have a few rooms and suite available. The suite is a hundred and twenty beras while a room with one bed is only fifty, forty if you don't want a meal."

Raising her eyebrow as the prices were a little higher then normal, she simply shrugged as this was the holy city and should have figured it would have been a little more expensive. Taking out a rather large amount, she slipped it onto the desk. "I'll take the room with one bed for a few nights. I'm here sight seeing and maybe even be baptized during my stay."

"Good for you." The man chirped as he happened to be baptized and thought it was great another had come to be blessed. "I do, however, have to warn you. There is a curfew out and anyone out during night will be taken in and questioned. I'm not too sure what is going on but the soldiers are on high alert as a few of the priests have suddenly disappeared. There might be a yoma around so be careful while you are here."

Narrowing her eyes for a moment as that was a sure sigh that it was indeed a yoma, Clare simply nodded and took the key the man offered. "You room is just down the hall, first on the right. …And for your other question there are a few bars in town. The closest is a few blocks down… But I must say it is rather odd such a young women like yourself drinks. You should enjoy your life as these are the best years in your life and save drinking for when you're older."

Smiling at the man, Clare shook her head as she suppressed a chuckle. "I do savor it… My mother and older brother got me hooked on a certain drink and I like to have one just before going to sleep."

Seeming to understand a little better, the man waved as she pocketed her key and went to leave. "Have a good time!"

"Will do. …If I ever get the chance." Clare waved backed before mumbling as she exited the inn, wishing she would get a break as ever since her training had started she really never was given time off unless she had gotten hurt… Which happened a lot early in her training.

Sighing as it did no good complaining about it, Clare began to trace her way to the bar which was easy enough to find. Once more the sign with the little mug clued her into that but it was mostly due to the fact that she could literally SMELL the liquor within the building. She chuckled a little as she knew Naruto and Luciela would not have been able to enter the place as the smell would have driven them insane.

Entering she checked everyone that was within the bar and immediately noted that there were a few soldiers that were off duty as there was armor laying next to most of the men that were drinking. The said man immediately began to whistle and howl at her appearance which flattered her to an extent as she moved to the bar.

At the bar were two soldiers had caught her attention. One was a rather large man that completely dwarfed Naruto in stature and size that was still in his armor which either meant he just got off duty and didn't bother to take it off or he was about to go on and wanted a drink before starting his shift. She also figured he was high in rank as his armor seemed to be of better quality then the others.

The much smaller man, at least compared to him, sat next to him wore very little metallic armor meshed with his leather armor. She noted that he had to be off high rank as he turned to the soldiers that were making noise and yelled at them. "Would you shut the fuck up? You're soldiers of Rabona, act like it!"

Each of the men quieted and began bickering amongst themselves, further empowering her statement that he was a rather high rank soldier and she decided to sit besides him. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it… But I do have to admit, it isn't often that such a young and fine woman as yourself decides to stop by here." He stated with a grin after he momentarily checked her out, making sure he wasn't caught in the process.

While his complement flattered her as she had a hard time considering herself a beauty, thanks to her own mother, Irene and Luciela, Clare took this to her advantage as she smiled at him. "I thank you again my dear sir… And while I am interested I am quite sure you are about to go on duty from the way your friend over there is dressed."

As the man grumbled as that was true, he was impressed that she could tell he was about to head out for his shift. However he was more disappointed that his job just got in the way of having a chance of getting laid… How he hated being a knight of Rabona at times. "Unfortunately I do… But I could always drop by to see you later."

"I would like that… But in truth I am here to find my brother. He has been gone from home for a long time, saying he was coming here to become a knight as he is good with a sword. I haven't heard a word from him since he arrived and I'm worried." Clare responded before sighing as she ordered a bottle of sake to go, which caught his partner's attention.

"Oh… Maybe I can see if I can tell him your here. We've just accepted a few soldiers from other villages not too long ago. What's his name?" The blonde responded trying to get on her good side for a possible favor from her later.

"Uzumaki… Uzumaki Naruto." Clare said as she uncorked her bottle and took a swig of the rice wine.

At the moment, the young man repressed a groan as the bigger knight could only chuckle at his partner, picking up who she was on her drink choice, before speaking in a low tone so his voice wouldn't travel very far. "Meet us next to the chapel on the roof tops around midnight… We'll explain what we know, miss."

"Thank you… I'll be there." She smiled at the two of them as she slid off her seat. "And Clare is the name."

"Galk."

"…Cid. And here I thought I had a chance. Damn my luck." Cid groaned as his larger companion only bit his lip and patted him on the back.

Grinning, Clare purposely shook her hips as she left the bar, entrapping every man's gaze onto her until she finally exited. Finally for once she was the center of attraction!

* * *

"Irene…"

"SON OF A… TERESA!" Irene screeched as she jumped, turned around on a dime and had drawn her claymore ready for combat before seeing who it was. "Would you not sneak up on me like that? I can't sense your yoki when you suppress it to the limit!"

"How's Clare doing?" Teresa commented as she simply shrugged Irene's ranting off as she needed to be better prepared the that, especially after all the times Naruto had snuck up on both of them just to make them paranoid of their surroundings.

Growling at being so easily ignored, Irene was half tempted to attempt using her Quick Sword to get Teresa's attention… Then she remembered she taught Teresa that technique and while her swing was faster… Teresa's was far more powerful.

Turning back around and looking at the Holy City, Irene focused her senses onto the last place she felt Clare. Thankfully she was close by to that location and locked onto her. "She's heading towards the chapel. It seems she has already made contact with Naruto's informants and they will give her a layout of what's going on."

"So he's making her seek the yoma out again? …I know she needs to work on her senses but isn't this a bit much. This yoma is nothing like the last one. A warrior in the mid to high thirties would struggle with this one." Teresa commented as she quickly located the yoma's whereabouts within the church.

"I know that… However, this is to push her as she has been focusing all her attention to physical strength and techniques instead of finesse and sensory. He wants her to be perceptive of her surroundings and not to rush in recklessly and cause more problems." Irene responded before she gazed at the young boy that arrived with Teresa. "So I take it Naruto noticed what you were not and brought him along?"

"What?" Teresa growled as she turned to Irene, forgoing that Raki was behind her, and was ready to strike out at her fellow warrior if she dared to question her skill again.

Irene merely shrugged her shoulders before she smiled lightly before drawing forth a lone kunai that was shaped oddly. "This entire time you've been unable to see what is around you… This isn't just a test for her, Teresa. I'm testing you as well."

In a plum of smoke, much to Teresa's horror, Irene literally disappeared letting her know it wasn't her but a clone of Naruto. She scanned the area, looking for a trace of him before she noticed a light groan and turned to the ground next to her, seeing it flicker for a moment before realizing it was an illusion.

Easily releasing it with a small flow of yoki, she reached down and pulled Irene from the loose earth. It took a moment for Irene to stand on her own as she was rather woozy, she panted a few times before shaking her head. "Damn… He didn't tell me it was going to be that disorienting…"

Narrowing her eyes at her fellow warrior, Teresa growled as she glared straight into Irene's eyes. "You knew he was testing me as well… Didn't you?"

"Yes." Irene simply answered as she closed her eyes and finally gathered her being and could stand on her own. "He didn't like how you were neglecting your own training… So he thought that you needed to be tested."

"Neglecting?" Teresa growled out as she trained day in and day out before she hit a few drinks with the damn blonde and Luciela. "I don't know what he is thinking but I have not…"

"Yes you have, Teresa!" Irene frowned as she had noticed it to and while she didn't prefer his methods, he was the only one that could truly make Teresa see what she was doing. "Clare follows your example and your example is to work only on your physical strength and technique… Instead of making progress on your own senses and you forgot that knowledge is just as powerful as the sword. I have now surpassed you in almost every detail outside of combat and yoki sensing!"

Staying silent as Teresa's eyes widened in shock, Irene closed her eyes and turned from the former number one. "You have brought this upon yourself as you were overconfident in your own skills and the peacefulness of these last few years have dulled your sight to what is truly around you."

"Take the boy and enter the city… Clare will need both of you if she is to survive this." Irene finished as her silver eyes gazed into the holy city, focusing on Clare and feeling she had entered the church. "And be ready Teresa… Your test has just begun."

Narrowing her eyes, having recovered from the slight shock of hearing Irene had surpassed her in many ways; Teresa took a step towards Irene before stopping. "What do you mean my test has just begun?"

"I won't say it for you so find out yourself." Irene said in response as her eyes gazed into Teresa's without fear. "Just keep this in mind, however. More then your life is staked on this test."

Looking at her for a moment longer, growling as she didn't understand what was going on, it began to dawn on Teresa that her life wasn't what was staked for this… "Clare!"

Without thinking twice, Teresa grabbed a hold of Raki she used the Body Flicker despite forgetting that she still had not learned how to control it when she took another along with her.

Sighing at this, Irene only shook her head as another stood directly behind her and spoke. "She couldn't even see through it… Has she really become that blind?"

"It seems like it… I have been too lenient on her and didn't think twice about letting her into the Akatsuki as she was more then skilled enough. But she has forgotten the most important thing." Irene responded for in a plum of smoke she transformed into Naruto, looking somewhat irritated.

"That the training your body isn't enough… You must train your body along with your mind so you can handle anything." Irene responded as she seemed to know what it was that Teresa had lost during their stay with Naruto and Luciela.

"Not entirely." Naruto commented which in turn had Irene looking at him oddly but he refused to answer as he shook his head and slowly began to head towards Rabona.

"There is one other thing that is needed… And they are about to learn what it is."

* * *

"So you're here." Galk said as he turned after hearing a soft thump behind him to see Clare standing from a crouch. "Good, I was beginning to worry that you might not make it."

Checking her surroundings, making absolutely sure that no one had seen her, Clare turned her attention towards the two knights. "I had to make sure I wasn't spotted. I didn't want to blow my cover or let anyone believe I was the yoma."

"Well if anyone did see you they probably would think that after seeing the way you move." Cid responded as he had caught sight of Clare just before she had arrived and her movements did not seem natural as they were just far too quick.

Frowning at him for a moment as his attitude had changed from the bar and he seemed a little more agitated and it felt like he was focusing it on her, Clare shook her head and turned her attention to Galk. "I've doing a little investigating since our meeting and it turns out many priests and soldiers have gone missing and people are beginning to panic as they believe a yoma is the cause."

"It is… We just don't know where it is." Galk sighed as he felt utterly helpless as the situation around him deteriorated. "I don't like asking for help but we have no choice as we have lost six fathers and almost twenty soldiers just this week and each time we find their corpses their inners have been devoured and there is no trace of the attacker."

"Where have most of the bodies been found? Once a yoma has found a particular hunting ground it typically does not leave it until it has either been discovered or a Claymore has been summoned. Either way its next move would be to catch a quick meal and move from its location so it can continue feeding." Clare explained as she had a good feeling that if she had a layout of where the attacks have been happening she would have a particular area to focus her search.

"Every death has been within the church walls but I would have to say the most have happened with the Baptismal Hall so we sought to look there but we couldn't find anything out of the ordinary." Cid stated as he felt that her plan would be very similar to something they've already tried.

Clare could only nod before she gazed at the church and shook her head. "There might be something that I can pick up in there then. If most of the deaths happen in that area it is a good chance it lurks within that particular room… What of the janitors?"

"We've already tried that and kept all the janitors and other servants quarantined for one night and after the night three bodies were found, two being within the hall. We also have station our men within the hall but that night there was still someone that died just outside the hall." Cid fired back as these were things they had tried already and was getting annoyed that supposedly this girl was going to be able to help them.

Frowning for a moment, Clare's eyes narrowed as she turned back to them. "Is anyone in the chapel's tower? I need to get and check the hall myself and see everything with my own eyes. I have a bad feeling about all of this. Is anyone station there tonight?"

"Yes we have a few…" Galk started before a loud scream echoed from within the church, alerting the three to what had just happened. "Shit! There is no time for this!"

Clare jumped down and sped off in front of them, seemingly like a blur as she busted into the church and surprised the two guards that had taken place at the entrance. Thankfully she had managed to get into the church earlier in the day so she knew the way to the hall even if she had not been allowed in.

But as soon as she arrived she felt sick to her stomach as she witnessed two soldiers before her, both of their heads having been ripped off and blood pouring onto the ground as gigantic form stood above them. Its clawed hand tearing through their armor and into their innards, pulling out a string of his intestines and shoving it into its mouth greedily.

Swallowing the vomit that was trying to push through, anger began to build within Clare. Once more she was just too slow to help those in need… Was her training flawed as it seemed she just arrived one second too late and failed to save a life that could have been spared?

Roaring out, Clare drew a kunai and threw it at the demon before unsheathing her katana and slashing at the beast. In her anger, she didn't realize that her roar had alerted the yoma to her presence and she could have very well taken its life before it realized she was on the attack.

But Clare had and the yoma only took the kunai to his thigh as he jumped from his spot and landed on a tomb to see his attacker. Not seeing the traits of a Claymore, the large yoma only grinned as he looked down at the young woman before him. His stomach growled as it liked what it saw before him and the beast was not going to deny sating its desire.

To her immense surprise, the yoma moved far faster then it did before and was upon her almost immediately. She instinctively rolled to the side and avoided the clawed hand aimed for her stomach and lashed her katana out to sever it. But to her horror the blade only sunk in a few inches and only pissed it off.

Roaring in hatred for being wounded by his prey, the fingers on his other hand had turned into lances much to Clare's surprise as that was a high level yoma ability. She wasn't expecting it and while she reacted to avoid them one still pierced into her shoulder.

Eliciting a cry of pain, Clare cut through the lance with her katana before she jumped back and sheathed it. Going through a motion of hand seals, the very ground the yoma was standing on suddenly shot forth in the form of spikes aimed towards its stomach.

The yoma was also surprised but just as Clare moments before he was able to react and only the tip of one spike ripped through the side of his hip. Roaring as that wasn't very pleasant, its eyes began to glow as its yoki began to form around it and just in a moment it had vanished.

Clare froze as she knew exactly where it had reappeared and there was no time for her to react to this attack. This attack would take her life and she couldn't help but allow the fear to overwhelm her as she felt its clawed hand only inches from her neck.

It roared once more as three knives suddenly found its way into the yoma's chest as Cid and Galk had arrived, the former with his eyes wide from the sight before him. "What in the hell is that thing?"

Feeling as if that God himself had blessed her, Clare unsheathed her katana once more as she leapt away from the yoma and landed before the two knights. Oh she was pissed as not only was she just almost killed but the yoma was far more advance then what Irene had told it would be. "That's the yoma… And we're going to need some help as this one is out of my league."

Putting her katana into the ground just as she said that, she went through another series of hand seals as the yoma was about to charge before taking a deep breath. Exhaling a large stream of fire before her, the yoma instinctively jumped above it to avoid the flames.

To her misfortune Cid had not taken his key there and thrown his knives at the yoma when it was exposed. He was too shocked at the burst of flames from Clare and before he realized his mistake, the yoma was in-between all of them. Galk, however, did not miss his cue and swung his broadsword down onto the yoma.

But to their horror the said yoma simply caught to blade before slamming his forearm into the large knight and took the sword from him. This was all that was needed to knock Cid back into reality as he drew a small short sword and sliced into the monster before he ducked and rolled under its sword its sword swing.

Clare ripped her katana from the ground and sliced into the back of the yoma but once more the blade stopped after a few inches as its hide was much thicker then the average variety yoma's. It still hurt the damn thing but as it kicked back, it inflicted more pain onto Clare as its foot connected to her face and slammed her into and over a tomb.

Opening her eyes as she closed them from the blow, Clare barely could see a thing as the vision in her left eye had faded and her right eyes vision was blocked up from blood freely flowing from a cut just above the said eye. Trying to wipe it off so she could see, a figure dropped down onto her from above and a maniacal, beast-like laugh fill the hall as its hand came down to crush her.

But at the very moment another figure slammed into the yoma and stood before Clare, her claymore drawn as her silver eyes gazed over at the yoma as she put it through the tomb and into the now cratered floor. Ready to finish it, Teresa swung her blade down to decapitate it when the clang of metal filled the room and another claymore stopped her blade.

Seeing the emblem, Teresa immediately looked towards the warrior only for fist to strike her in the face and knock her back. "This isn't your fight Teresa… You did enough to stop the fatal blow. Let her finish."

"Why? So you can let her die you ass?" Teresa screamed at the blonde before her hoping for some kind of answer from the ninja but after not receiving one she growled and lifted her sword to force him to speak.

But before Teresa could react, Naruto was on her again and knocked her blade from her grip and kicked her once more. Appearing before her, her gripped her throat and slammed her into the wall just behind her as she recovered and narrowed his eyes at the warrior. "Because just like you she needs to learn this lesson."

Growling deep in her throat, Teresa released a massive burst of yoki and broke free of his grip only for Naruto to slam the butt of his sword into her temple and push his forearm into her throat to keep her pinned down. Seething at him, trying to find anyway out of this situation, she croaked at him. "What fucking lesson? This is a torture session!"

"If you want to see it like that… Fine." Naruto responded with a slight growl as he had been through far harsher conditions then this. "However you still fail to see what is right in front of you and instead you brutishly force your way through everything! But not this time… You can't outmuscle me."

Clare was unsure what was going on as now her master and mother were locked in combat, not that it was much of a contest at the moment, meanwhile there was yoma that was about to kill them all just for being there and keeping it from its food. However, after that blow it received from Teresa it was looking for a way out realizing there were two here that could easily take its life without a problem.

But just like any other yoma, if it was going to flee it was going to make sure he had a meal with him and there happened to be an easy target standing at the entrance and looking on at the scene in horror. In almost an instant, it was before the young boy who had no time to react.

Time froze on the other hand for Clare. Despite her current vision she was clearly able to see who it was standing where the yoma had fled to. But why was Raki there in the first place? There was no reason for him to be there and now once more he was in danger and it would be here fault that she let him down once more!

Her eyes flickered to gold for as she began to draw upon all the energy she could muster as she picked herself up and rushed towards Raki in hope she would be there fast enough despite seeing the yoma's hand almost already upon him. It was as if the God's themselves intervened as it turned its attention to her as she yelled out at it and began to focus all the energy she had been gathering into her palm.

The yoma's reaction was typical as it tried lash out with its lances but this time it didn't stop Clare as she leapt over them and they only grazed her skin while others were deflected with her katana an orb of chakra began to form within her right hand. Its screech out and attempted to swipe at her with its other claw but it was too late as she was already upon it and an immense pain began to spiral through its chest.

Yoma bits and blood splattered the entrance as the Rasengan tore through its chest and left a grand hole in its torso leaving almost nothing left as it fell onto its knees. This time there was no resistance as Clare put her katana through its neck and beheaded the foul yoma.

Panting heavily as the amount of control it took to keep the sage chakra was overwhelming combined with her injuries she looked at Raki to make sure he was okay before she dropped her sword and fell to her hands and knees, no longer having any control over it as her visual appearance began to twist and distort.

"Clare!" Raki screamed as he could see something was wrong with her and it seemed like her body was trying to change into something else.

Using the strength she had left, Clare tilted her face up to his and forced a sad smile despite the pain her body was going through as she tried to rein in and control the sage chakra. "Raki, I know I said we'd see each other again… But why did you come here? I would have…"

"I came… Because I wanted to thank you." Raki interrupted her as he embracing her. "I was so petrified when you first saved me… I didn't know what to do. I couldn't… I couldn't even thank you after you saved my life and now I have a chance to help you but…"

"W-What?…?" Clare stumbled as she couldn't believe what she was hearing from the younger boy as she hardly even knew him and tried to push him away as she did not want him to see her like this.

But before she could even try to say anything more his crying became louder as his embrace tightened. "I don't want to lose you… My village kicked me out and you're the only person I can turn to… So you got to make it through this… You just got to! I wouldn't know what to do!"

Clare wasn't sure what happened but in the very next moment she had regained control of the sage chakra and funneled it back into the necklace. Nothing could explain it as it felt as if everything was the same but something had came from within her and grasped it and brought it back under control.

"What… How did it… How did I suppress my chakra?" Clare blinked as every solution she came up with was failing her but it mattered not.

Now she had to handle a hysterical Raki as he was overjoyed that her image had returned to normal and she no longer looked like she was in pain. Not knowing what else to do, she hesitantly embraced him back ever so softly.

"Do you see now?" Naruto whispered as he looked towards Raki and Clare while still restraining Teresa as there was the chance if he let her go she would attack him. "She has followed your example for so long… Only training her body and mind that she forgot the most important aspect."

"One must have a purpose… A reason for why they do everything. But for that purpose there must be something that drives it otherwise it is pointless… You have let yours overwhelm you over these past few years and made it the only thing you truly care for." Naruto continued as he watched Raki crying into Clare's bosom.

Finally releasing her from his grasp, Naruto took a step back and gazed over at her to absolutely make sure she wasn't going to attack him before approaching Clare and Raki, the former being the only one coherent enough to see him coming. "As for you… You trained to become stronger but you never had a purpose…"

"Now you have one as just when you thought you were about to lose all control and turn to stone something within you burst free and brought everything back to normal… Do you know what that was, Clare?" Naruto asked as he looked down at the young woman as she looked up at him with wide eyes. "It was your love for him."

"Whether or not you know it you let him into your heart when you ran across him and slaying that yoma before him brought him even deeper in your heart. …When you conscience her his screams it reach out to you and from that you found the strength to do something you knew was not currently possible." Naruto explained as Clare's eyes widened hearing that her sensei claimed that she loved this boy.

Turning his back from her and closing his eyes, Naruto's voice softened. "Everyone has something that is precious to them whether it is a person or a goal… It is from this that we ninja derive or nindos from… Our way of life. …Today you have just found something precious to you and that is what you should base your nindo on."

"No… There is more to it then that." Naruto stopped himself as he pulled a single picture from his cloak and sadly smiled at it. "I don't know how to explain it… But your way should be defined more then just what you hold dear to you. There is something more… Something about it that fuels your drive to keep you going through the hard times."

"If you don't understand… Don't worry. It will come to you eventually and then you will understand… Till then, we are here to guide you." Naruto finished as he grew tired and looking at the picture drained his strength as it reminded him when his life was full and he was innocent to the ways of the world.

Clenching onto it tightly, his eyes slowly opened only to see both Clare and Raki were now standing and Teresa was standing behind them, giving a dirty look that was mixed with a tinge of understanding and realization. "I think I get it now… I don't like how this was planned…"

"I never planned this… But it is over now and there is nothing that can be done about it." Naruto admitted as he let this get out of hand despite having control of the situation.

"But if there is one thing you should know… Just remember that becoming strong is more then just training just your mind and your body… It takes a strong and perseverant heart that is willing to _love_. As in the end… Love is where true strength comes from no matter if it comes from a friend, family, lover, place or purpose." He sighed as he pocketed the picture as a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Now you better leave… It won't be long till guards start piling in here to find out what happened as Cid and Galk can't hold them off for long… I leave them in your hands Teresa."

With that, Naruto dispersed in a flicker of smoke and light leaving Teresa in charged. But as she led them out she remembered what he had said to her before frowning. He was right… She had let her love of Clare blind her from seeing what she truly needed.

And now Clare had it… And she would be damned if she was going to let her lose it because of her blindness.

* * *

"Well hey there soldier boy… What's wrong?" Luciela lusted as she figured Naruto was done with his lesson but as soon as he appeared before her she could see something was wrong with him and that worried her. "Naruto…"

"It… It's nothing. I just need some rest. …Today was trying for me." Naruto tiredly said as he looked over at the awakened, his eyes half glazed over as he relived his own memories; some good and some were bad but in the end they all left him in the same state.

He was tired.

"Okay." Was all Luciela said and glad she had summoned Naruto in her private chambers, for obvious reasons but now they were squashed, before she led him to the bed.

She frowned as he was out soon as he laid down, not liking that whatever the hell happened dampened her treasure like this as it felt as if he had temporarily lost his spark… What she truly desired about him the most.

Still this was to be expected as Naruto had told her this would be hard lesson for _him _to teach and then teach the warrior to tone it down. However to be worn out to this extent… Needless to say Luciela was upset as she had planned on a few things for tonight and then there was that job she needed him to head out for in the morning…

Sighing softly as this was getting her nowhere and she should just be glad that for once he was resting in their bed; Luciela sat down next to his sleeping form and began to slip him out of his cloak only for a picture to fall out once she pulled it off.

Picking it up, Luciela's face dropped as she looked at the picture and the writing on the back before looking back down at her sleeping treasure. "It's all beginning to make sense now… Why you are so desperate to get back…"

"You want to get back to bring forth your treasures' dreams."

* * *

**A/N2**: Okay… I honestly didn't like how the end of this chapter turned out but despite multiple different versions… This is the _best_ I came up with. I won't mind if you complain about this one too much as I don't think this was my best work but hopefully the next chapter will make up for that.

If you have any questions for this chapter or story as a whole, have some constructive criticism or just want to say keep up the good work, you know the drill. Peace Out my friends.


	16. War is Among Us

**A/N**: Alright, alright, alright! While this update this update is a little late I kind of got caught on a block for a while then I hit a streak with Way of the Jinchuuriki, which is still going, and I've have hundreds of ideas bouncing around in my skull which slowed this update even further. So really until I cool down from WotJ updates here will be scattered and random… Like normal really. I'll try to make it more consistent but until my WotJ binge burns out I can't promise anything.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, War is Among Us.

* * *

Walking through a forest, heading to her next destination that was handed out to her by Ermita, Galatea sighed.

After he woke from being knocked unconscious from the Abyssal Warrior, he verbally lashed her for not being able to sense him. The problem was that she had but he had covered his aura so well that she thought he was a garden variety yoma.

If Ermita could, he would have killed her for that.

There also seemed to be another reason for being upset, however. He didn't seem too pleased that all of the warriors had survived the battle against the awakened. He tried to play it off saying he was special but… She saw through it.

They had sent the four of them out there for execution and they brought her there to confirm it. If it wasn't for their training she received from them she would have exploded in fury over the situation. They had done nothing to warrant such a sentence for they were only trouble makers.

The only one that had any question marks was warrior forty-seven, Elena for they said she may have been in contact with the Abyssal Warrior. There was slight acceptances there rooting out a possible spy was a necessity with the problems that were looming in the future. She however would have preferred solid evidence.

She, however, now could not go through with this next mission. She was assigned to hunt down the survivors of the mission and kill a defector to the south, an old friend of hers. She had killed warriors before but now… This was something beyond her.

Killing her friend would not be easy. She wasn't even sure that she could do it. She was raised side by side with her… Trained and fought with her. Share the same room and comforted each other when the pain was too much…

And now she had been sent out to kill the one she cared for the most.

Nonetheless, she had to see it out because if she didn't she knew what would happen. They wouldn't kill her… No, they would do something far worse. They would give her to _him_ and let _him_ do whatever he wanted with her. They would let him turn her into a weapon…

Galatea feared that man. Not because he could defeat her… No, it was what those experiments of his that he did that truly frightened her.

Often going to her lab were young males but soon they left in agony. She wasn't a fool and with her senses she knew what happened. They had received the same operation to create a warrior and were put at dangerous levels so they would awaken would they woke.

With her ability to detect yoki from such long distance she saw what they did with them… They decimated villages that did not pay or stood against them, realizing something was wrong about this entire thing or someone getting the idea that yoma were not natural creatures…

How she would like to tell them they were right. She knew what lurked in his labs and knew that low leveled yoma came from their base and were released out into the world.

However she did not understand why the organization did this. They had to gain something outside just money to continue such ridiculous experiments. They didn't even use the money other than to give to their warriors and handlers. So what was it they had to gain…?

Stopping for a moment, not even bothering to look back for she knew what was following her, Galatea closed her eyes. "I know you are there… But tell me… Is there a way out of this madness? What does the Abyssal Warrior offer that made you join his side…"

Dropping down from the trees she was using to follow, a single warrior stood before Galatea with her hand clenched on her sword in case of being attacked. "A new world and ability to live like humans once more… So that one day we may live a normal life in a land without yoma… Without worry of losing our humanity to the yoma inside us."

"But more importantly… He offers something we all want back… Our freedom."

"I see…" Galatea responded keeping her eyes closed before she turned and gazed at the warrior that had been stalking her. "He's using us too…"

"You know nothing Galatea. He may be using us now… But once this is over I know we will be given our freedom. He does not lie… Besides it is better than our lives now." The warrior narrowed her eyes and felt ready to strike at a moments notice.

Simply nodding, for that much she could see, Galatea smiled. And then in the very next moment she was upon the warrior, her blade drawn and pressing against the flesh of her throat. "Are you willing to test that conviction of yours with your life?"

"Yes for you see… With these techniques even you can be fooled." The warrior smirked before her body burst into a plum of smoke.

Surprised at this sudden revelation, she narrowed her eyes seeing seven of the same warrior standing directly behind her with her hand still placed on her blade before the ground before her feet suddenly turned to dust.

Jumping back and landing a few meters from what she stood, Galatea narrowed her eyes. "It seems you've gotten better… But I wonder if it will be enough…"

"Kazekiri no Flora."

* * *

"Come on lover boy… Wakey, wakey."

That was the first thing that Naruto heard as he slowly began to drift back to consciousness. He nearly lost consciousness soon after he awoke and his vision began to clear. Why? That was simple.

Luciela was wearing absolutely nothing and she was straddling his mostly naked body, boxers being the only thing he had on.

Waking up to that picture was just… Too many things for him to put into words so he decided to go with just one word that he knew would put an end to this scene. One word that he had learned from a good friend. "Troublesome…"

"Hey!" Luciela barked at her human lover, both eyes madly twitching in the process as she had hoped this would entice him into doing it when he awoke. "What kind of man are you? Here is a beautiful naked woman before you and you all you have to say is troublesome!"

Looking at her with only a raised eyebrow as he took a temporary look at the entire situation, Naruto twitched his eyes back at her before nodding. "If you were in my position… That would be the best word to describe this fucked up scenario."

It seemed Luciela had the decency to blush as she kind of realized that she had put him in a rather awkward situation and anything sexual always seemed to reside in the back of his mind, which explained why he was somewhere around thirty and had sex only twice in his life. Still she was rather irate for she could feel him which he meant he liked what he saw! "What is it going to take for you to see me like those two?"

"Not this, obviously." Naruto dryly commented as he managed to slip out underneath Luciela but stayed seated next to her. "And as I said before, I only slept with them as at both moments I was emotionally unstable and it was the only thing they could do to… reset me to normalcy. …However I will admit that our relationship is closer then mine with either of them… I just am not in the mood for it."

"When _will_ you be in the mood to do it?" Luciela twitched as while she did feel better it was still highly annoying as he was practically never in the mood to have a nice romp… Making out was a different story but the actual act of sex never occurred.

"I honestly don't know…" Naruto said with a sigh as he didn't understand it himself.

He liked to read about it, mainly because Icha was Jiraiya's passion in life and he felt like honoring the man by at least reading the series, but to be honest with himself… He only wanted to be with someone that was truly his lover and he couldn't quite place Luciela at that yet.

Shaking his head of that, he slipped off the bed before wrapping the sheets around her. "I'm sorry… I truly am. I guess I just have this weird complex that I even don't understand that keeps me from wanting sex…"

He was unable to finish speaking as Luciela locked her lips with his, trying to shimmy out of the blankets and snuggle up against him. Naruto knew there was something wrong with him more then ever as he broke the kiss and kept her pinned in her blankets. "Luciela… Please understand. Our time will come but it isn't now."

Wanting to growl at the blonde shinobi, Luciela sighed out loud before she locked her eyes with his and glared. "I know but can you blame me for trying? After all I just want to be with you…"

Naruto sadly smiled before leaning over and gently kissing her on the lip and whispered once he broke it. "And I with you… All I'm asking is for you to wait until I am ready and get a few things off my chest. Just remember…"

"You are mine." Luciela smirked ever so slightly feeling somewhat satisfied that he belonged to her but at the same time a little miffed that there was still some things going on in that head of is that kept him from being completely hers. "Fine… I had something for you to do anyways."

Raising his eyebrow at this, Naruto simply nodded before turning to the bathroom to wash up. The week had passed by rather quickly and Teresa, Irene, Clare and Raki were there so he had to be quick. This was the only shower in the place.

Seeing that there was already heated water that was readied for a shower, he raised his eyebrow a bit further and had to wonder what was so important that Luciela had set everything up before he had awoken.

Still he entered the shower and slowly tilted the ramp until the water began to freely fall onto his body, rinsing the dirt from his hair and skin. Technology here wasn't as great like it was in the elemental countries but for this world this kind of technology was rare and only owned by the wealthiest.

Or it use to be he reminded himself.

Luciela happened to be such and not just because she was an Abyssal One. She was very intelligent and had set up food produce businesses that thrived thanks to her uncanny ability to grow. She also used her money to fund inventions from local geniuses to help move their civilization along. Few ever succeed but more and more of their kind were coming to the south seeking money for their work.

Hearing the door open, Naruto turned his attention onto Luciela, who was simply admiring him. Thankfully she was wearing clothing now so this more than likely meant business. "Naruto… War is coming soon here. I'm sure you have noticed how my presence within these lands has been affecting the people."

"Yes… Thanks to you the population's lives are better due to technological advancements. Simple things like indoor plumbing to complex machinery to help miners mine for gold and oil are making more people flock to the south for better lives. Also because Teresa, Irene and I there are less yoma here than anywhere else and bandits tend to avoid the south due to be slaughtered and devoured by _the yoma_ that do." Naruto commented knowing this for he had lived here for… Eight or nine years he believed now.

"Then you should know that the organization up until now has been leading the technological advancement in this land." Luciela stated, still marveling at Naruto's body, before sighing. "Because they know that I've been funding such research into these things along with providing affordable food and paying farmers for harvesting such…"

"They have deemed me the greatest threat. However they know that even with their strongest warriors they cannot match me now thanks to our little army." Luciela finished, watching Naruto save the rest of the water and step out of the shower to dry off.

Drying his head first, not bothering to cover him goods for Luciela had seen him naked enough it didn't matter, Naruto rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't call Teresa, Irene and what few warriors and ex-warriors I have recruited along with myself an army. …I admit I am a one man army now but still. Wait…"

"Yes by declaring I am the most dangerous threat… It means that they fear your power and most likely want to collect you and see… To see what makes you tick and apply it to their warriors. But there is one last thing… They will most likely not attack us directly for that is suicide with their current strength. They instead will try and lure one of us out." Luciela said to confirm Naruto's train of thinking.

Narrowing his eyes at this, and sliding on some underwear and his orange pants, Naruto softly rubbed his right temple. "So what you are saying is that they will more than likely unleash one of their awakened forces in towns here in the south to draw our attention and force us out into the open so they can strike."

"Exactly… Which means they believe they have a warrior strong enough to capture or eliminate one of us or Teresa." Luciela narrowed her eyes at this for a moment, wondering if they had been spied on by the organization's Eye; the brunette watched Naruto slid his shirt and button his cloak down.

Leaving the collar buttons undone, Naruto simply gazed at Luciela. "So what is it that you want me to do? It will either have to be one of us or Teresa that shows up to handle such a situation."

"I need you to begin to recruit a mass of warriors and awakens in a hurry. Marching on the organization must happen soon for they are becoming brazen if they think they can take my lands while I'm still here." Luciela growled out, her eyes flashing silver for a moment before returning to their norm.

Naruto had to admit he hadn't really been recruiting too hard. There was only five, now six if he added Miria, that were within the organization but now sided with him. Each of them, outside of Elena, was rather highly ranked and was strong enough on their own but their strength had been bolstered by his training methods, when he was able to.

He wasn't too sure that mass recruiting would work and that was why he was being rather secretive about his efforts. Sure he had two awakens on his side besides Luciela but that wasn't enough of a force for the job he was recruiting them for. And while he was more than enough for the organization thanks to his father's technique among many others attributes it still was a bit of a risk going in without a decent force.

But if there was something that would draw their attention and bring forth a mass revolution within their ranks… "Teresa is better than I when it comes to gathering support from the warriors. I may be able to suppress their awakening and one day prevent it… They will listen to her… And to her story. She is who is needed to start our little revolution so we can get off this rock."

"What's this about me and the revolution?" Teresa's voiced echoed from behind Naruto, sliding in through the window, hearing Naruto was awake and wanted to converse with the blonde before she noted his nude state. "Well this reminds me of that night two years ago…"

"WHAT?" Luciela screamed out, enraged by the very thought of Naruto ever being nude around Teresa for he was hers and hers alone. "I have you know if you so much as touched him…"

"Relax." Naruto rolled his eyes at Luciela's reaction before wrapping the towel around his waist, having been naked before both women before and not feeling too horribly embarrassed about the situation. "You remember that fire two years ago… Yeah, my clothes got toasted and I was left naked in front of her."

"And then we did stuff like fellatios, cunnilingus, missionary, the pile driver…" Teresa added on with a grin for she wanted to piss Luciela off before the demoness roared at her.

"STOP YOU BOLD FACED LIES YOU DIRTY WRENCH IF I HAVEN'T DONE THOSE THINGS WITH HIM, YOU HAVEN'T FOR SURE!" Luciela bellowed as she was almost on the verge of transforming, ready to rip Teresa piece by piece for even insinuating that she and Naruto did such an act with one another.

"Can we focus here?" Naruto twitched at the events unfolding before him and feeling this was somewhat Teresa's revenge for testing her. "Or am I going to have to beat both of you down and tie you up in the room again?"

Both became ashen at the thought of room, almost completely ignoring that fact that Naruto could beat both down. The last time that was mentioned was when both were ignoring him and ended up setting him and that one garden on fire…

"No!" They both squeaked in terror knew the horrors of that room.

He smirked at the two for they were behaving so uncharacteristically just because of the room… He would have to thank Tsunade for imparting that one method of interrogation to him. Who knew that a moose antler, lubricant and this weird cup trophy from an ancient ice sport could be so frighteningly terrifying?

Taking the discussion outside of the bathroom, for it would be awkward to keep it within there, they entered the main hall of the house before continuing where they left off; after he got dressed.

"Alright then… Teresa." Naruto turned to the former warrior before explaining what her mission was. "You are needed to be the fire of this revolution. The reason why the warriors to side with us… You are to gather as many as you can possibly and have them join our ranks."

"I don't care what it takes. Whether it is from moving them with your story and taking them by sword point, just get it done. This is your order and if you fail it dire consequences will face you on your return for this is your first true mission from the Dawn." Naruto spoke in a commanding voice, falling into his role of the head of the Dawn.

There was nothing else put in his words. No killing intent, no venom… Nothing but a stern voice a glint in his glare froze Teresa in place. The authority that he seemingly commanded from seemingly nowhere swept over her as did the power he possessed.

"It will be done. Is there any other information I need before I head out?" Teresa lightly bowed, somewhat unnerved by the sheer ferocity and raw power that the blonde male before her possessed.

Turning to Luciela, who also noted the seriousness coming from her lover, she understood his unanswered question and supplied the warrior with what she knew. "The organization is currently are drawing an abnormal amount of troops to their borders to the south and the north. They have left most of the single ranked warriors alone and have left them at their normal stations and they keep their new bonding project safely behind close doors."

"So for right now recruiting any single digit warrior seems to be unlikely outside of the two Naruto has already gathered support from." Teresa commented, frowning for they were the most useful. "What is going on in the north that is drawing their attention?"

"Isley and Priscilla." Naruto responded because he knew what was happening in the north better then what Luciela did. "They almost have reached their quota for awakened warriors and are prepared to launch their attack to the south. And unlike normal awakens I am sure Isley has taught them a few things he picked up from me during the spar I had with him and my fight with Rigaldo."

"As of right now the number seven is currently posted at the northern border and the sixth warrior is at the southern. However the movements of three through five are not known. Galatea has disappeared, Ophelia is hunting awakens and… Rafaela's yoki is sealed to the point she can't be sensed by anything less than a sensor." Luciela spoke before her voice slip at the end when she reached her sister's unknown location.

"And no one knows what Riful is doing and that is worrisome on its own. So much in fact that despite their lack of man power and being the weakest of the forces, the organization has sent a scout team just to get a picture of what Riful is doing." Luciela added on after a moments pause, pushing her feelings to the side.

"There is also the possibility that they are sending the team to her as a gift to entice her into temporarily joining forces with them. However, Riful is not foolish. She knows that the balance of power resides in there being at least two Abyssals otherwise the organization could throw all there forces into eliminating the last one standing." Naruto quickly followed knowing it could be true; military tactics being driven into his head during the Fourth Shinobi War.

A frown had begun to develop from where this information seemed to be leading. All three of the four powers within the land were active, pulling their forces together, sending scouts to discover the others plans and treaties were being made. Add to this that all three Abyssals were active and that led to once conclusion.

War was upon them. And all but one wanted to be ruler of this rock.

And she couldn't help but think that it was the only one that did not want to rule this land that would be the catalyst for this. He had just started a war in his world and gets transported to this one, just to start another to get back to his war.

However, she wasn't in much of a situation to complain. Without his arrival to these lands, she knew she would be dead.

Priscilla would have taken her head that day.

Before anything could go any further, Teresa cut them off. "I've heard enough. I'll be heading to the eastern border and do what I must to build our forces. Afterwards I'll work my way to the west before I finally head to the north…"

"No. I'll handle the west." Naruto suddenly spoke, catching Teresa by surprise and making Luciela twitch. "Stick to the eastern border and collect the warriors you can. The west is mine… For if Riful has indeed sided with the organization she must be dealt with and I'm most capable of defeating her at this time and Luciela commands the south so she must stay."

For one of those moments, Teresa narrowed her eyes at Naruto. However she showed no other disrespect for Naruto at the moment he was her leader, not her friend. "As you wish. If I can, I would like to leave Irene here to look after Clare and Raki…"

Teresa left it open knowing that what she was trying to say would get across to Naruto. It would also catch Luciela's ire, but she cared little of that. She may have come to trust her but that didn't mean she would let her alone with her daughter and the boy.

Luciela still fed on human flesh.

Thinking for a second, Naruto was about to nod to her request. However he had been having a strange feeling as of late and he couldn't place. And now more than ever he couldn't help but like the feeling. "No… Something tells me you will need her with you."

"What?" Teresa growled out and didn't care that Naruto was acting as leader and not a friend before she directly pointed at Luciela. "While I know Luciela is a good person, I don't trust her without someone else to watch her. Don't forget she still devours humans!"

Luciela snarled at Teresa's statement. While her point was valid, she had limited herself to eat only bandits and other criminals for the sake of the two, now three, humans that lived with her. And she had lived with Naruto for a lot longer than the girl and she showed immense control over her urges and eventually her appetite decrease to what it was now.

Placing his hand before Luciela and giving her a quick glance, Naruto shook his head before his gaze fell upon the blonde Claymore. "Nonetheless it is my order and you will take Irene with you. Something is happening over there and you will need her help."

"As for your worries, they are quite reasonable and I've taken them into account." Naruto saw the anger rise in Teresa's eyes before his eyes turned to the closed room that Teresa normally rested within. "Besides, do you think I'm stupid enough to leave the two alone without someone there to watch them? Even if I trust Luciela there are other things that can happen when she isn't around."

"Huh?" Teresa's anger abated at Naruto's response and left her clueless while she racked her brain in an attempt to figure who the person that would be left that Naruto was hinting at.

Unable to come up with anyone for it was only the six of them now, she would have blurted out who they hell it was before her senses locked in on a signature coming out of her room. Obviously Luciela had allowed someone to sleep there last night, not that she minded for she still had difficulties sleeping on a bed…

"Flora!" Teresa looked shocked for one of the few warriors she had run across in the last six years and became good friends with. "What are… But how… I thought…"

"No, I'm still alive. Probably from what you heard Galatea had slain me… But that was a cover for they knew I defected from the organization and she couldn't kill me. And with my defection covered no one will suspect anything about me or our newest member!" Flora answered Teresa's fragmented questions with little difficulty, chirping at the end for her role had been fulfilled.

After all she was taken in by the organization at the same Galatea and they grew up with one another, side by side until they were official warriors. They were good friends.

Teresa's attention turned to Naruto, her face twitching with anger. He had endangered their best warrior just in an attempt to gain the third ranked warrior. And he didn't even bother to tell her this! Oh she was going to…

At this moment Teresa noted something off about the situation.

Naruto wasn't there.

"Have fun. I'm off to do my job… Whatever that may be." Naruto called out before the door slammed shut and Naruto bolted from the property, heading east.

Teresa could only blink before she sighed. She knew this routine very well. This was Naruto's way of caring… By letting them pour out all their frustrations out onto him… Or at least by chasing him. He very rarely would allow her to hit him unless he crossed the line. "You know… It is like he is expecting me to chase him. I've gotten wise to his games."

"You do know he acts like that out of respect for his sensei. …And it is a very effective anger control and good for stress relief." Luciela commented before she drew forth Icha Icha Violence from thin air and started to read. "And it actually works… Every time I'm finished chasing him I'm no longer angry, frustrated or upset. The man was a genius… Except had to be some sort of masochist for he let himself get pummeled."

Simply rolling her eyes for it would do no good to chase after Naruto, Teresa turned to Flora with a somewhat annoyed look on her face. "Could you fill me in on what happened and any other plans of his that you might know of? From the sound of things the east may not be too safe right about now if Naruto is worried about it… Luciela, could you…"

"I'm already on it." Luciela stated as she headed for the door for there were things she had to know of.

She couldn't help but frown and put her book away for something was off. "I'm als going to check up on some of my other contacts before you head out. I want to make sure of something before you head out. …So feel free to make out with your little lover if you like. Maybe Irene would like to join too…"

"SHUT UP!" Teresa screamed at Luciela with her eyes slightly widening at what the demoness was hinting at.

Internally she felt a small shiver crawl up her back. Just how in the hell did she know her tastes? Sure she liked men but really outside of Naruto there wasn't any man she was interested in for they were wimps and all her friends weren't…

"Naruto! Oh no, no, no, no, no, no…" Teresa continued on realizing how Luciela could have learned that information for she drank a lot with Naruto and liked to get drunk.

And when she was drunk she knew she was very talkative and Naruto was a dashing man…

When he wanted to be.

Smirking, distracting the warrior for now, Luciela head for the door with a look of worry written on her face. If he felt any unease about the east then she needed to contact her agents and see what was going on. For when Naruto had a feeling something was going to happen…

It happened.

* * *

"What… What is this?" A lone warrior screeched before drawing her blade before her and slicing at the person before her.

Her opponent easily blocked with such a pitiful weapon… Just a small but thick knife. Her claymore should have easily demolished the weapon by now but hardly a dent was seen on it. And with the force of the blows she had been striking with she would have thought her opponent would have worn down by now.

But from this strike she shivered. An overwhelming presence filled her senses as her silver eyes gazed into the emeralds of her enemy. This power was far more potent then what she could imagine. It wasn't the yoki she had sensed and had brought her here, believing an awakened to be in the area, but this energy…

"I'll ask you again… Why did it seem you recognized our uniform? Is there a man on this backwater island wearing this uniform? Is Uzumaki Naruto here?" The woman before her hissed, her emerald eyes gazing into hers while an oppressive dread began to fill the air around her. "If you don't speak I'm not going to be nice any longer and start taking you apart limb by limb until I get my answers."

Her eyes dilated in and out of focus while something akin to horror began to fill her being. "No… no… This shouldn't be…"

Narrowing her eyes, wondering what was wrong with the women before her, she attempted to move put and end to this fight before the blonde warrior jumped away from her as her visage began to morph. Her eyes began shining; arties and vessels became visible while her muscles bulged and a distinct aura began to explode around her.

Taking a step back while her male emerald eyed partner stood besides her, watching this changed, she turned for him for a moment and narrowed her eyes before she brushed her pink bangs from her unusual forehead. "It can't be… That's yoki. Only demons possess such unrestricted… Untamed chakra."

"Indeed. Let me take over." Her partner said stepping before her and facing their demonic target. "I'll tell you once… Tell us what you know and we'll let you go. If not I will crush every bone in your body for you seem to know a little too much just to be coincidence."

"Screw you!" The warrior screamed and continued drawing upon her yoki before slowing bringing it to a halt, knowing where her limit was. "I am Ophelia, the fourth strongest warrior of the organization! There should be no one… No human that can stand to my power!"

"You won't be getting any answers from me! But when I'm finished with you two I'll get my answers from you!" The fourth ranked Ophelia screamed before her arm began to shudder before her entire arm began to vibrate in a violent fashion before her blade began to literally blur where she held it.

Narrowing his eyes for a moment, he schooled his face into impassiveness. It had the effect he wanted for she charged him, going straight in for the kill. He did not move an inch and watched claymore arc for his throat.

And then his defense kicked it, stopping the blade in its track.

"Fool… We're in a desert and here I am God!" Gaara's emerald eyes began to take an unnatural golden glow to him before a similar colored chakra began to shimmer around. "Now let's see what you can do!"

"SABAKU KYU!"

* * *

**A/N2**: Well I hope this chapter was what you hoped for. Interestingly enough… This chapter kind of popped up on its own. While both scenes are critical this was originally suppose to be Naruto traveling to the east but it ended this way. And the scene with Gaara and Sakura was suppose to be at the end of Naruto's travels, not before it. Nonetheless nothing has changed in my plans and this should come out the same.

The Akatsuki is coming into play so prepare yourselves, the Naruto Universe is about to clash with the Claymore. And we're ever so approaching the point where the first chapter starts in… Naruto bitching about his life in the Claymore Universe. And yes, Naruto's ominous feeling was sensing Gaara's presence without knowing it was Gaara. …Possibly being scared of what Sakura could do to him.

The scene where Naruto wakes was a little improv I had to do because how I ended last chapter and what caused a sudden halt in my writing. That particular scene blasted me. And the portions with Flora were thrown in on a whim for I couldn't just have Teresa and Irene leave Raki and Clare with Luciela. They may have lived with one another for six years but they won't trust her when it comes to feeding… And for good reason. And I had to have Galatea join… She's one of my favs.

Teresa's sexual preferences there about being bi was just for fun and also to possibly do a Yuri pairing for her. Not too sure thought for I still like my original idea a little more… And no, it is not putting her with Naruto and Luciela.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you find any mistakes, have a question or if just want to comment do so. I'll say it once and I'll say again, your input is highly valued(especially those of you that are authors).

P.S.: Also I would like to thank Dreaded Rasengan for mentioning my newest story, Of Gods and Mice, in his story. And to be the nice person I am, at times, I would recommend my readers to check out his story; Kurenai Chishio Yoroi. So far from what I've read it is actually a pretty good story and you might like.

Peace Out.


	17. The Abyss Deepens

**A/N** : Okay, I've actually updated, so applause please. You have no idea how difficult this chapter was for me to write. The moment my computer cord snap, I had an absolute dismal time just to keep it together long enough to get my files off... Only to realize that I keep Red Dawn separate from my other Naruto's and in my Claymore stash...

So yeah, I have no clue if I actually began this chapter or not originally. To make things harder on myself I didn't even have my notes! I had to try and remember, with my scattered memory, what I wanted to do in the next few chapters and hoped it was remotely close to my directional notes.

In the end, I believe I'm close to it but it doesn't matter too much and I'll just work around it for this chapter is out... And it is staying.

So I hope you enjoy, The Abyss Deepens.

* * *

No matter where he went, no matter what he saw. Every town was the same. How they lived and what jobs resided in the area may differed, but the mood in the towns and how everyone acted was the same.

Each and every person was afraid of the next person that came across them. No one knew who would become the next Yoma and devour them, their family and neighbors.

The fear was rational. Yoma appeared sometimes as complete strangers entering the town to feast on... And sometimes they snuck in and devoured someone within the town, taking their skin and wearing it to blend in.

And no matter how many seemed to be killed by the warriors of the organization, their numbers hardly ever seem to decline. And that left only two options and both were unsettling.

The first would be that Yoma quickly repopulated and kept their numbers high in response to how many of them actually survived, much like that of a rabbit. Hardly something anyone wanted to think about as then it would be nigh impossible to ever eliminate every single Yoma without something utterly drastic that would most likely wipe out the human population of the island as well.

He, however, thought that was unlikely. Yoma didn't really seem to be the type to repopulate quickly from what he saw. While they enjoyed the fleshes of a woman, he was quite sure they couldn't get a human woman pregnant...

Add in the fact that he had not once seen a female Yoma outside of the Claymores... And well he found the theory that Yoma used captured warriors to breed with was rather farfetched. He wasn't even sure warriors could reproduce thanks to their Yoma blood.

The second, and more likely even if the ideal was repulsing and borderline insane, was that the organization was creating the Yoma. There was a high chance of this since from what he noted, especially when he was sensing within Sage Form, was that a high density of the Yoma population was found in central, heading to the east.

This didn't make any sense to Naruto. Why would the Yoma's strongest population be so close to where their one natural predator was created? Yoma were intelligent enough, at least by certain standards, to realize this and spread their population throughout the North, West and South to make it difficult to be hunted.

So what reason for this was there? They obviously were spreading out, but the population in the Central East seemed to stay fairly consistent.

That's where the validation of the organization creating the Yoma seemed to be more plausible. He knew the Yoma were spreading out but their numbers seemed to dwindle once they left camp, especially when they head to the South, courtesy of Naruto and the others.

So only having the North and West to go to... It was quite shocking that their numbers here were about equal to what they always were. And that either meant they were actually dropping in population or...

'An army is being gathered... A weak one but nonetheless an army.' Naruto mentally groaned at this thought before shaking his head, heading through the village.

He had been tracking a warrior, a high ranking warrior if her Yoki capacity had anything to say about it. She hadn't noticed him, mostly attributed to being able to conceal his chakra and Kyuubi's Yoki to the point that only Teresa could sense him without much difficulty. However she knew what she was looking for...

No one else would bother twice about his signature, unless hunting down the weakest of Yoma that even a human could slay was their priority.

He still found it interesting that this short haired warrior was heading towards three other signatures, obviously warriors. So that meant she was most likely going to be the leader of this little group to make a transaction with Riful... Or just be turned or brutalized by her and her lover.

Either way, they seemed to know where she was located at... Or at least the organization had a lock on her position, a frightening thought since Galatea's whereabouts were currently unknown. And while he could sense the Witch's position, though he'd credit her for hiding her signature quite well, it just made him wonder further what the organization was going to do.

Bumping up against her, moving through the street, he immediately apologize. "I'm sorry miss..."

"It's no trouble... Continue on." The short haired Claymore responded, sensing nothing out of the ordinary with the man.

Except... His signature was slightly off. There was a weird sense she got as the man walked by her and she almost wanted to ask what it was. But turning back he was nowhere to be seen, lost in the crowd of people.

Frowning, swearing she had sensed the slightest amount of yoki, the warrior shook her head. It was of no problem to her. A yoma with that pitiful amount of yoki was hardly a threat to anyone but a small child. Sure, he could probably make a surprise kill or two but it wasn't her problem for now.

She would deal with it when she got back from her Awakened Hunt.

Grinning from above as he watched her from the roof tops, Naruto activated a seal on his ear and heard the other three welcome their comrade as the high ranked warrior entered their temporary headquarters for the operation. "Damn it's good to be a ninja... They never expect a thing."

"Now let's see what you four are getting into..." Naruto mumbled before concentrating on his current objective.

* * *

Standing within one of her many gardens, gazing at the fruit her darling trees were putting out, Luciela sighed. Leaving this land would be quite difficult. She had grown attached to it and all of her creations.

Yet she would leave when the time became known. This land was not what her lover cared for, though he did his best to help. He wanted to be home and she would grant him that. He still had things to do there, things left unfinished. While she... Done everything she wanted, albeit her lover, multiple times and began to find it was a boring routine...

She hated being in a routine, no more so then when it had began to dull for her. At least as a Claymore her routine wasn't boring, she had to admit. Be able to kill and kill often it did have its upsides.

Then again, she would admit that she was a cold hearted psycho bitch in battle and just loved to fight... A trait she found that Naruto possessed, outside of being a complete psychopath in battle.

They both loved the thrill of battle. The exhilaration. The tension. The blood, sweat and tears. Their bodies screamed at them to continue, to keep fighting and let the sensation continue. It was almost like making ravenous, hardcore love...

Not that she had done that ever since Naruto literally dropped into her life... Though that would be made up for soon enough.

She would make sure of that.

"About time... I've been waiting a while for you... Rubel." Luciela stated without bothering to look behind her.

"Hmp, your senses are sharp as ever. It looks like they haven't dulled with him around." The man in black and a rimmed hat responded, an eerie grin touching his lips.

"They never have... If anything he has sharpened them. " Luciela countered with a slight growl before turning and gazing towards the man. "Now what do you know, Rubel? I need information and fast before this war erupts into a three front affair."

"That would be bad for all involved..." Rubel admitted before wiping his smile from his face and pocketing his hands. "However what I offer to you will not be what you want to hear... The organization is already amounting a force to raid the South while preparing the warriors to meet eventual assault coming from the North."

"This I know of... But what can I expect of the forces being gathered against me. It is unlikely they'll be sending warriors after me since the majority is gathering in the North." Luciela hissed as he was dancing around what she wanted to know.

Tipping his hat over his eyes and shaking his head, Rubel smirked beneath the shadow of the hat. "Oh it won't be something you can't handle... Just a massive amount of recently created Yoma and awakened males. ...Well there are the other things."

"What other things, Rubel?" Luciela growled while her eyes glittered a silver tent, tired of this man for he always played around like this.

Shrugging his shoulders, Rubel sighed due to his lack of information on that particular subject. "That I'll let you find out on your own since even I don't know about _that man's _projects. All I know is that they shipped a few bodies of dead Awakens to his lab and he's been found around the graves of dead warriors."

"Dae's involved?" Luciela went rigid after hissing that man's name, knowing just what he did and knew how dangerous anything he worked on could be. "Shit! This could be bad with him aiding their forces."

Rubel nodded before tipping the brim of his hat back up to gaze into her eyes. "That we both know... However you will have to be ready for whatever horrid creation that he sends your way. We both want the same thing, even if our reasons are different. I would hate to see you go by the wayside... I still care for every warrior that was under my watch."

"You never acted like it." Luciela deeply frowned at this declaration and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm helping you, am I not?" Rubel countered with a smile and turned, ready to leave for he still had other things to do.

Not going to deny that, Luciela knew her informant had to leave but there was one last thing she needed to know. "Naruto sensed something in the east a few days ago... But something tells me the organization isn't what caused his sudden raise in worry."

Thinking for a moment, wondering just what it was that the Abyssal Warrior had sensed, Rubel snapped his finger. "Oh yes... It must be that."

Instead of jumping down Rubel's throat for pausing a few moments after his comment, Luciela waited for him to speak. "While I'm not too sure what happened... We do know that Number Ten caught an odd signature a few days ago before sensing the Number Four's signature vanish."

"Ophelia was killed? That is an anomaly on its own since a five ranked warrior dying without another ranked warrior slaying them or a former single digit awakened doing the job." Luciela stated in a puzzled manner, knowing the current warriors were still on par with those of the previous generations.

For their position at the very least.

"Normally yes... But this was what made it odd... It was an immense yoki signature that was felt by Number Ten. ...Not unlike the yoki that the Abyssal Warrior can wield." Rubel smirked as he gazed back at Luciela to see her reaction.

Turning rigid once more at the mere thought another yoki like that of the fox within Naruto had shown it's face, Luciela grimaced realizing Teresa and Irene had already left and this could get ugly. "Great... Just as it seems like it is time to strike..."

"You're telling me... But this could be in your favor." Rubel shrugged yet again before turning and started to walk, giving her a small wave and one last piece of advice. "Isn't there those who are looking for him?"

Luciela's eyes snapped wide open. Of course there would be those looking for Naruto from his old land. There would be no way that his organization would just abandon him. He was the King and they needed him to succeed in their plans.

But there was always the off chance it was someone else looking for him, to put this rebellion of his out of its misery.

Growling since this was only enough to draw upon conclusions, but not enough to make any sure decision, Luciela turned and made her way back to her current hideaway. She would have to get this information to Naruto soon and let him decipher what this could be...

And then she would prepare for whatever it was Dae would be sending her way...

* * *

Groaning as he laid back in the room he rented the day before, Naruto wanted to smash his head against the wall. But the wall would crumble before his true objective could be achieved and would just leave him with a massive headache.

And since he already had one, a real one wouldn't help in the slightest.

"Dammit... Those girls didn't know a thing. They organization is sending them in there to be slaughtered. But why?" Naruto groaned out while listening to his seal, noting the four were ready and walking in the streets again if the noises in the background were accurate.

Once again the blonde ninja was left confused. The organization was starting to gradually send its forces to the North to prepare for the eventual invasion from Isley. However knowing tactics and knowing a little about the man, he was going to use his forces to distract both the organization and Riful from his true purpose and come straight to the South himself, Priscilla at his side.

And if that was the approach he was going for, it was working.

Now, how the organization was responding set off alarms. It was almost as if they didn't care and were just gauging what their opponents were capable of. But that was fool hearty with five massive powers in play...

But that meant if they were being this reckless, it meant they had a fall back plan locked away in their vaults and he hardly thought it was Alicia and Beth. They may have mastered their connection but they were still vulnerable and it all came down to Beth being able to stay out of harms way.

Unlikely with someone of an Abyssal's battle prowess facing them.

However the lack of overall information he could get from what happened within the organization was insignificant at best. Very few were ever allowed to know everything that went on within their premises. The only ones that did never left or spoke a word to another about what they knew.

Overall it made it rather difficult to get information without busting in, capturing one of the heads and interrogating them.

And that wasn't an option since at that time whatever was in the vaults would be released to stop their attacker and eliminate the threat of valuable information falling into the wrong hands.

Naruto had to give these guys credit. They operated on a far more efficient level then most hidden villages at that particular aspect. The other villages would love to figure out the organization's secrets on that alone and apply it to their village.

Sighing since it was time to get up and follow the Awakened Hunt, not that it was going to succeed, he slipped his Akatsuki cloak on. As he exited and paid his remaining tab to the owner of the place, a small grin slipped onto his face.

He was going to get to play a role he hadn't in a long time. Not sense the Wave and when he faced off against Gaara.

The hero that came in at the last second and save the day.

Just that alone pumped his mood, making him feel a little chipper than normal, before popping his neck and shoulders. "Well it's time to go recruiting..."

"Riful, here I come."

* * *

"Well... This is becoming unproductive as hell!" Teresa complained to her partner, getting tired of scaring the daylights out of any warrior she came across.

She hardly got to speak with them before they fled, realizing they were dealing with Bishou no Teresa and Quicksword Irene. It was kind of annoying really as she didn't want to cut them down, only injuring them, to make them sit down and listen...

However that now was becoming an intriguing possibility more and more after seeing every single warrior had the same reaction.

"Calm down Teresa... You would act in accordance with them seeing a pair of former Number One and Two come across your path if you were a warrior of the organization." Irene tried to reason was the fuming volcano known as Teresa.

But it was like trying to placate a berserker in the mist of a hunt. It just was adding fuel to the fire burning passionately within her. "Ah screw that! We've been at this a few days, track these warriors done and they just turn tail and run for their lives! I'm not just going to go up and decapitate them! They don't even bother with trying to talk with either of us!"

"In all fairness... Didn't Flora have a similar reaction when she ran across you and Naruto?" Irene questioned Teresa, trying to make her see that she was getting worked over by something she had to figure would happen.

It also could be that Teresa was radiating a blood lust around her that screamed 'I'LL CRUSH YOU!'. That probably didn't comfort any of the one's they were trying to talk to.

Twitching, remembering that the only reason Flora didn't run from them was thanks to that earth jutsu Naruto used to trap her in place, Teresa simply glared at her partner and spoke vehemently towards her. "You know I can quite easily break all your teeth, don't you?"

Irene winced at the sheer irritation in Teresa's voice and realized she wasn't helping in the slightest. However she couldn't quite keep her mouth shut as she mumbled to herself. "Geez... I thought Flora took care of your stress before we left."

"OH DAMMIT!" Teresa screamed at Irene, none to please to hear what Irene had muttered, before turning away and blushing. "Just shut up... I've been rather upset for a while if you haven't noticed."

"I've noticed..." Irene spoke after a moments of silence, sighing as she looked down the road they were traveling and noticing a town in the distance.

Knowing that Teresa has sensed a yoki presence within this village they were going to take a look and hope it was a warrior. If a yoma, eliminate it then move. It never hurt to lessen their numbers and helped people there rest at ease even if it was only a brief calm.

"Is it Naruto?" Irene asked after yet another silence reigned for a moment and allowed her to single down her partner's worries.

"Yes." Teresa simply answered in a low whisper, her eyes closing knowing the path that would take her to the city.

Irene frowned. She hadn't expected Teresa to be so forward about her troubles since she always hid them beneath her smile. She acted like nothing bothered her, but in truth there was a vast of things that bothered the former Number One. Yet she always stayed silent about them...

But now she wasn't and that just led her to believe... "You love him, don't you?"

Stopping before opening her eyes and looking up to the sky, Teresa had to tilt her head a little. "In a sense... Yes, I do. But no, I do not love him as Luciela does."

"While I do care for him as person, since he has been a father to Clare and I'm her mother so of course there is going to be an attraction there... And he is a good person and cares for me back... But that isn't what I love. I love what he represents... Hope... Justice... Freedom. He is the emblazed idol of these characteristics in human form." Teresa spoke once she noted Irene stopped and gazed towards her.

"And I will admit, I'm disappointed that I cannot be with such a man... I don't mind that." Teresa honestly answered before sighing. "But at the same time I kind of do. It is just one of those complex things that I don't understand and at times it grates my nerves more than anything else has ever done."

A slight smile made its way on her lips before Irene lightly laughed, catching Teresa's attention. "You know... After all those years of being trained to forget our humanity and become weapons to eradicate Yoma and Awakens... They failed. We are still human. We are what they feared the most for we have the power they granted us but our wills to act on our own accord."

"It is no wonder they are worried... They know what reaction we would have on their warriors and above all else, they want to prevent that." Irene grinned at her fellow partner before motioning her head to the town. "Teresa, let's go and make their fear a reality. Let's help bring them down for what they have done to us and many others like us!"

Almost stunned at Irene's brazen statement, Teresa couldn't help but let her true smile show. With a nod, she agreed and step in stride with her fellow warrior. "Hmp, didn't know you had that in you? They took someone precious from you too."

"My father... My mother... And my brother. And I will avenge them." Irene responded, a fire burning within her eyes. "I will have to thank him for that... He allowed me remember the reason I fought so hard to reach this pinnacle and then surpass it."

Teresa smirked at the former number two, creaking her neck and preparing to make a few warriors sit and listen to what they had to say. "Then let's make them pay in spades... WOAH!"

In an instant both Irene and Teresa had split from where they stood, bolting away in a single bound, to see the ground they stood at suddenly explode into a furious dust cloud.

Drawing their blades, preparing for combat, Teresa and Irene narrowed their eyes. They had hardly sensed the attack before it happened and that was a terrifying thing due to Teresa's sensory. She was distracted however that didn't denote the fact that only being could sneak up onto her on a bad day since she was taking her training seriously once again.

Seeing a form in the dust, Irene sprinted to take care of the threat. However in an instant something odd had happened. The ground below her felt different then it had before. Realizing she had just stepped into a trap, she slashed at the ground below her with her Quicksword before bounding next to Teresa with narrowed eyes.

"Sand... What the hell? What can control sand?" Irene growled in frustration as this was a new one on her, never hearing of anything that could command such an element.

To be fair no one had control of elements before until Naruto arrived, but she put that aside for now as this was serious matter at hand.

Teresa simply nodded and hung her sword down at her side, her grip tightened and ready to strike while looking as if she had dropped her guard. "Just what are you... Only one of you possess yoki and the other has chakra. Who are you?"

"We could ask you the same." A red haired, emerald eye male formed before the two from the sand building before them, next to the crater that had been before by the other.

Teresa's eyes widened in an instant and Irene took a step back at the sight of the man. While the man had plenty of intimidating feature about him, it was none of these that had caught them by surprise.

It was what he wore. A black cloak with various red clouds spread along it.

"Where did you get that cloak?" A female voice echoed and stood out of the dust, her pink hair flaying in the gust of wind that was building while her emerald eyes burned brightly. "Only one person could have given you that... Now where is he?"

"Where is Uzumaki Naruto?"

* * *

**A/N2** : I know, short chapter but this is a development/set-up chapter. The real fun starts next chapter and I hope you all enjoy it when I managed to get it out.

Anyways, not much to say and if you have any questions just drop them to me and I'll see how I can respond or fix them.

Peace out.


	18. Rebirth of a True Hero

**A/N**: Yes, a miracle indeed. Another chapter and in rather quick secession too! This is the first time in a while I've been able to sit down at a computer long enough to actually get a little done and you can see the results.

It could also be mentioned that I'm on a roll with Red Dawn at the moment...

Anyways, here is the next chapter, Rebirth of a True Hero!

* * *

Four figures stood within in the rocky terrain, eying one another carefully and taking their possible opponents for granted. All there could feel the power within another and if a battle could be avoided it would be best to do so.

Well, there was one that did not care of the strength of the two before her. Her goal had been waved before her and she would not let it slip through her fingers. So whether by talk or by force, she would get her answers.

And right now she was inclined to the latter, having a lot of anger built over the near decade Naruto had been gone.

"I'll ask you one more time... Where is the one you know as the Abyssal Warrior, Uzumaki Naruto?" Sakura hissed out, her knuckles crackling from clinching her hands alone.

"And why should we tell you?" Irene recovered first, taking note of the situation of not liking it in the slightest.

While their uniform was similar to what Naruto wore, there was far too many variables to take them at first sight as allies. There was always the chance that another group had replaced his old unit and changed their goals and it was even more possible that these were simply spies sent to gather information on his whereabouts or to outright eliminate him.

And that the was the last thing she was going to ever allow. Naruto was what this world needed to set it right, to change it and bring about a peace that had long been thought impossible.

"That is not any of your concern." Gaara responded in his usual stoic tone. "We are here for him and that is all you need to know."

"Like we're just going to hand him over! Now I suggest you state your business with him otherwise I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Teresa touted off, feeling undermined by the two before her.

If they were here to collect Naruto and bring him home, why not just say so? They could tell them they were here for that and this entire war could just be skipped... Even though the organization did deserve to be severely crippled if not destroyed out right.

Gaara had the slimmest of frowns form at this reaction. These two were not like the one they had ran into earlier, who only knew of the title of the Abyssal Warrior and nothing more of use. Outside a description that came quite handy, proving Naruto was on this backwater island.

And the girl on the right before him further proved this, wearing one of the cloaks Naruto had been given to induct members into the Dawn.

Instead these two were on the defensive. They were protecting what they knew which meant they had a firm grasp on where he was or personally knew him. And in most likeliness were possible subordinates he gathered within this land in an attempt to find his way home.

However noting the escalation building he was going to nip this in the butt. His earlier response had been to gauge their reaction and from what he could see they were protecting Naruto, believing they could be enemies.

But he was too late and his short temper partner spouted a heated response back. "Oh hell no! We just learned he's here and by the Gods we're finding him! So draw that sword of yours and just see what happens!"

"Your mistake... I'm feeling quite agitated today... And I can use the stress relief!" Teresa roared back, obviously not getting along with Sakura, before lifting her sword with ease and virtually disappearing before appearing before Sakura, her sword swooping down from above.

'Dammit Sakura!' Gaara mentally roared before jumping back, caught off guard at the sudden burst and attack.

Sakura could only roll out of the path of the blade, surprised at this woman's speed. Honestly she hadn't seen someone that fast in quite a while, Sasuke being the first person to come to memory, and it was almost a shock after seeing what the warrior named Ophelia was capable of.

This one was on a whole different level.

Drawing a kunai in defense, Sakura's blade met with Teresa's sword to stop her next strike. She had to admit there was quite a bit of strength behind the swing but when it came to a battle of strength...

Sakura always won.

Teresa suppressed a shiver as her claymore made contact with the ninja knife of her opponent. From just how easily she was able to withstand the pressure she could put behind her swing was unsettling enough but this feeling of being pushed back with just one arm...

Unnerved her greatly.

With a turn of her foot, she immediately dissipated before Sakura. Frontal attacks were no longer an option. Just from that swing alone she knew this opponent was physically more gifted than almost anyone she ever faced.

Sakura's eyes widened. Oh she knew that technique well, having watched Naruto used it time and time again. While she never had seen him use it in an actual battle situation and only watched its creation and tested it in spars, she knew just how deadly it could be.

Shunpo was an amazing speed technique, only surpassed by the Raikage's lighting armor and Hiraishin.

"Sunanoni shōheki!" Gaara's cry echoed before a semi-shell of sand burst from the rocky granite below, guarding Sakura from the strike.

Caught off guard having her blade stopped by sand of all things and sunk in only half way into the barrier, Teresa used the barrier for leverage to leap off and freed her blade. However at that exact moment spikes shot out from the sand, catching her off guard as they neared her being.

But shattered as Irene dropped by the former Number One, her sword held steady in her hand. "Keep your guard up and expect anything. We have no clue what these two can do."

Nodding at Irene's assessment, knowing that another surprise like that could be the end of her, Teresa held her sword before her as the red head joined the his pink haired ally. "I wanted to avoid a confrontation... You are making a big mistake as you have no idea what you just got yourself into..."

"Now behold my power! Ryūsa Bakuryū!" Gaara roared before the granite shattered and sand literally poured out like a tidal wave...

The fact that it became a massive tidal wave of sand made the thought rather valid. The technique did live up to its name on being a Tsunami...

Watching the mass of sand fall upon them, Teresa closed her eyes for a moment and calmed her spirit. It was the only way to be able to use the technique Irene had taught her at its fullest potential.

Snapping her eyes open, gripping her sword tightly as the wave barrel down on them, Teresa waved her sword before in synchrony with Irene.

Sakura had thought the fight was over. She had witnessed Gaara wield this technique on only a few occasions but whenever it was used it ended the feud. He mentioned once that it had failed in its job, but credited his opponent and his advance bloodline that allowed him to survive the assault and continued the battle.

He also mentioned that was one of the few times he had ever felt close to death, the only other two being the extraction of Shukuku and his fight with Naruto.

But when she saw the wave split into three parts and fall harmlessly around the two sword wielders before her, Sakura gritted her teeth. She realized that she might have just bit off more than she could chew.

"These two are on par with Kage level shinobi... This will not be an easy fight to overcome." Gaara spoke to her, not batting an eye at what he had seen as if he had expected. "It will require both of us as a team to win this battle."

"Rodger." Sakura nodded as it wasn't too uncommon for Gaara to take the leading role since he was the former Kazekage.

Slamming her fist into the ground, shaking the nearby earth and uplifting a few on the major rocks, Sakura burrowed into the ground as Gaara gazed upon the two adversaries.

The earth shaking from the girl's punch was bad enough on its own but the ground beneath their feet being uprooted simply made it worse and forced them to jump from their spot, separating them. And they both knew that was what their opponents wanted...

Shattering from the earth below Irene, Sakura grabbed a hold of her foot as she was still airborne before dragging her down. Yet the very instant she pulled her down she was forced to hold her kunai before her to block a cut of pure yoki.

But that wasn't enough and shallow cuts and a light gash or two formed along her forearms and biceps.

Narrowing her eyes at this and burrowing back into the earth, she quickly came up with a new plan. She noted the acceleration of yoki within her right arm which drastically increased the swing of her sword to levels even the seven swordsmen would be envious of.

However the next step was what really bothered Sakura. It was that with each swing it was as if the blade had been extended by the users yoki, creating a shock wave like technique. She would have classified it as a wind elemental technique but the fact her blade momentarily stopped it and had weakened the attack...

Sakura instantly understood how to counteract the attack. All it would take is a little bit of chakra manipulation...

"Seriously! Sand!" Teresa's screeched echoed through the now sand covered plains, the only things not covered being the enormous rocks and the up-shoots of earth caused by Sakura.

The reason for this scream was simple, especially considering she had gone to pick a fight with Gaara. Her blade was being stopped in its tracks by a wall of sand that immediately sprung up, defending him from any harm as the blade only made it threw on a few occasions and at those times her opponent simply side stepped and either tripped or backhanded her.

However what little did she know was that Gaara was stunned and sweating metaphoric bullets. From just how fast she traveled and how difficult it was to keep track of her, he was reminded vastly of his fight against Lee and partially against Sasuke.

Except now it could be far worse since neither ever used a blade, especially one this heavy, and he could feel that this one was just getting started. It honestly felt like he was fighting Naruto again who always seemed to get stronger the longer a fight lasted.

Growling at her opposition, realizing that she wouldn't be able to win this with her base power, Teresa took a breath. She never liked drawing upon her yoki but after everything she learned about Naruto and the demon he possessed...

Sometimes it just was necessity.

And with great force, Teresa's eyes glowed eerily and her yoki erupted around her. The ground beneath her feet and around her cratered from the impact while the dust and sand spewed away. And then her glowing, silver eyes gazed into his.

And Gaara cursed.

This was just perfect! He considered her on the same terms as a Kage before and now she completely surpassed that! She was on what Naruto had dubbed the fucking insane, _son-of-a-bitch!_ level. Only Naruto, Madara and a few others ever graced that level and he liked to think he had reached that pinnacle...

And now he was about to find out.

"It has been a while..." Gaara muttered as he gathered sand to him, a sinister smirk creeping upon his lips at these words, before looking down his opponent as Shukuku's yoki began to slip into his system. "There are only a few that have ever managed to challenge me before... Let's see if you measure up!"

"Sabaku Kyu!" Gaara roared and slashed his sand towards Teresa, nearly trice as fast as it was previously.

Teresa noted this but didn't feel worried in the slightest. The speed might have increased dramatically but it was far too slow for her.

Gaara really felt like he was fighting Lee again seeing the warrior simply disappear before his very eyes, noting the slight tilt of her foot as she did. Recognizing it as a speed technique that amplified her already impressive speed, Gaara knew exactly where she was going to strike...

And ducked just in time as a blade ripped through his first defense of sand with practice ease.

Suppressing a gulp, knowing that one hit and it would be over, Gaara sported a cocky grin and taunted his opponent by beckoning her to come on. "Is that all you've got? I've dealt with faster from where I come from."

"Oh son of..." Sakura screamed out, skidding back and cursing like an old red haired member of the sound once would have. "Fucking bitch! Do you know how hard it is to get these cloaks repaired much less replaced? Konan will rip me a new ass hearing I tore up another!"

Irene wanted to comment on she knew exactly how hard they were to replace let alone repair. Naruto's complaints after ruining yet another cloak or having to stitch up a tear had gotten quite old, even if they were still humorous to hear every now and then.

But catching a name in Sakura's statement rose an immediate question. Who was Konan? She swore she had heard that name before yet she couldn't put a finger on it. All she knew it was someone important and she swore she heard...

"That's it! You are so dead!" Sakura screamed and smashed the ground beneath her to rubble with a single blow before following with a modified earth jutsu to fling the rocks towards Irene.

Cursing, having temporarily lost her surroundings, Irene was forced to draw upon her quick-sword yet again to block the multitude of stones. However once she did she lost visual on Sakura. She would have grimaced at this if this had been five years ago but now she couldn't help but smirk having learned a trick from her partner.

Her sensory level may and probably would never be anywhere comparable to Teresa's, but she had improved to the point where she could lock onto Yoki or chakra as long as it was in a reasonable range. The only two people she had a difficult time sensing was Naruto, for only Teresa could keep track of him with her senses, and surprisingly Clare though she thought the reason for the teenage girl was the low amount of chakra and that her chakra seemingly blended in with her surroundings.

A frightening thought if that held true later in life for the girl...

Keeping track on the pink hair's position, Irene knew she couldn't give any indication she knew where she was. She had to try and make it seem she had lost her and was desperately trying to seek her out. However by keeping her hand on her sword's handle, she was ready to strike.

And just as the moment came, her eyes widened as she brought the sword down and into Sakura... Only for her to dissipate into mud and suddenly lost all senses around her as she was sent spinning through the air and collided painfully into the ground.

Ignoring the sharp and constant pain over her entire body, and the ringing in her ears and skull at that, Irene slowly pushed herself up... It was at that moment she knew something was wrong when her legs twitching instead of her arms pushing her back onto her knees.

"So do you like what I did? I think it is quite an improvement." Sakura gloated as she stepped next to the downed Irene, cracking her knuckles. "Yet another technique I learned from my master."

"What... What did you do?" Irene frustration boiled over, not understanding why her body had stopped listening and trying to figure out how to get control of her body back.

Sakura smirked before lightly kicking her opponent in the chest, though due to her enhanced strength it flung Irene a few meters away. Shaking her head as she strode over to her down opponent, she sighed as this one wasn't nearly as strong as her counterpart. "I rearranged your neural system, changing the electric signals of the brain to be transferred to different limbs of the body."

"Now... I want to know anything you know about Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura spoke kneeling down and gripping the back of Irene's hair. "I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if you refuse... NO!"

Barely able to jump back, drawing a kunai to deflect the blade, Sakura's eyes widened as she noted Irene pushed herself back onto her knees but noted she was using the hand that was still gripping her blade. "What... But how... You were just stalling for time?"

"A little... I was able to remaster my sword arm... But that is all I need to fight." Irene panted before wiping the trail of blood flowing from her busted lower lip.

Growling at that, not believing in the slightest that one arm was all she needed to beat her, Sakura was ready to strike and test Irene's theory when everyone stopped.

"That's it! Enough!" Gaara's roar echoed through the leveled landscape, his sand drawing back to his gourd, before he seemingly teleported in a swirl of sand next to Sakura. "This has gone on far enough... If we push this fight any longer the odds of us returning Naruto safely back home are slim to none. We will retreat for now..."

"Wait, what?" Teresa screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring that bruises covered her body and that she was currently sporting a left black eye. "Oh you've got to be... FUCKERS! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY THAT? THIS ENTIRE THING COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF YOU HAD JUST SAID THAT?"

Gaara twitched. And twitched again. And he twitched for a third time. It took all of his self control not to scream out that she had helped escalate it to this point.

Instead he calmly and collectively spoke in a flat tone. "I was just about to... But you and my partner were out looking for a fight and it wasn't till this time I was finally able to actually take control of the situation. As far as I'm concerned, this is just as much your fault as it is Sakura's."

Sakura's face turned a deep shade of crimson from her blush, realizing that Gaara spoke the truth. The fact that she had pent up anger issues, a lot surrounding this search for Naruto, and it had caused this battle when it was easily avoided didn't make her feel too much better.

At least she was a medic though... She could take care of the injuries.

Teresa wanted to refute what Gaara had said but she too had the decency to blush. She also mentally cursed Naruto for agitating her to this extent, even though it was simply his presence that was causing her internal conflict. "Sorry... Just have had my buttons pushed too often these last few days..."

"Yeah... Naruto does that. Use to beat the crap out of him for that... Until I realized that was what he wanted. Sick, sadistic masochist..." Sakura responded, knowing the effects that Naruto had on others before moving over to Irene. "Sorry for that... Let me reset your neural network. Then I'll get to your wounds..."

"Teresa... And you're currently tending to Irene." The former number one responded, still highly agitated over this entire situation. "So you're here to take Naruto back... Couldn't have come at a worse time to."

"Seems like it... Feels like a war is brewing and knowing Naruto like we do... Something tells me he's the catalyst in this." Gaara gazed over at the blonde before sighing. "And something tells me he's going to have to finish this before we take him from here..."

"Yes... He was summoned here." Irene answered, doing her best not to react and slice the pink hair girl in two.

It was rather difficult for her mindset to shift from believing someone was an enemy to an ally in less than a few minutes.

"Summoned? That shouldn't be possible... They were attempting to summon Kyuubi, shit!" Sakura cursed at the circumstances and realized that their time here could and would be extended if that was the case. "So he's been searching for the summoner to eliminate them, all knowledge of the sealing before returning home?"

"Well until you two showed up we weren't even sure if it was possible to leave this island, much less get to it. No one has ever managed to make it the lands outside." Teresa commented, glad to see Irene standing again and her movements was returned to normal.

Moving over to the bruised Teresa, who was much easier to heal in comparison, Sakura couldn't help but nod. "Well that explains the armada Gaara and I had to sink before getting here... They opened fire on us without warning and tried to sink us."

"The question is why would they want to keep this place in isolation?" Gaara spoke, curious to see if there was a known reason or if whoever was controlling that armada had kept their presence a secret.

"Can't say. No one knows what the organization is truly planning." Irene responded while testing her wrists and shoulders to make sure everything was working properly. "While Naruto and Luciela have their spies within the vast majority of information is held by the few people at the top and they do not speak to others about it."

"About Naruto... Where exactly is he?" Sakura tried to ask politely though it came across as if she honestly didn't care about this land. That was the truth and extracting Naruto was their number one priority...

But if he was going to be summoned away and back to this place again, might as well get whatever needs be done here out of the way. At least then they could follow up with their mission without the worry they would lose Naruto... Again.

Neither Teresa nor Irene took offense to Sakura's impolite words. To be perfectly frank, they understood her frustration with this entire situation and having Naruto, their leader, disappear out of thin air and stay missing for near a decade would cause quite a number on their frustration meters if they were in her place.

"Dunno. Somewhere in the west, probably about to pick a fight with an Abyssal One." Teresa responded before shaking her head and sighing. "Great... This thoroughly screws over my mission..."

"Sorry about that." Gaara apologized and figured that she was out on a mission that Naruto most likely had given her. "However we do need to get in contact with him soon. Where is the location of the hideout?"

"Might as well show you... I doubt our Abyssal One would take kindly to you showing up there unannounced, especially two as strong as you both." Irene sighed in unison with Teresa, knowing that Luciela would rip into them for coming back without having made a successful recruit...

Never mind, these two counted. That would at least keep Luciela out of their hair for a while.

"Thank you very much, we appreciate the hospitality... Especially after that whole misunderstanding." Sakura grimaced after bowing ever so lightly to the two warriors. "But may I ask... What in the world is an Abyssal One? I noted that Naruto has taken up that nickname too but what does it mean?"

"Abyssals are the strongest in the land, their power rivaled by only one another. However an Abyssal one is when a warrior like myself and around our power loses control over our yoki and our human side can no longer contain our Yoma side... And we rapidly deteriorate into a Awakened Being or as Naruto would say, a true demon." Irene replied, hoping that would help clear up any confusion they had.

"So... You are hanyous, half-breeds then." Gaara digested the information quickly, not hesitation in his response since he was accustom to demonic powers being in play.

He was a jinchuuriki again.

"Artificial ones, but yes." Irene nodded in confirmation, noting that the red head had no problem with this in the slightest and for the most part the pink haired one didn't either. It simply took her longer to register that they were half-breeds.

Sighing as this day was just getting worse and even weirder by the minute, Sakura rubbed her hand over her abnormal forehead. "Great... Sounds like we've just won the Devil's lottery. So just how strong are these Abyssal Ones to give us an accurate measure on their power?"

"You feel that one over there?" Teresa pointed over to a monstrous Awakened Being in the distance, erupting from the town that they were originally going to go to. "She at one point was known as Fresh Blood Agatha, a former Number Two warrior of her time that succumbed to the power of her yoki."

"Now quadruple that power you sense from her and you've got the strength of the Abyssal's ten years ago. However as of now I'm quite sure their twice as powerful than that now... Well at least Luciela and Isley are." Teresa responded in all honesty before drawing her sword, preparing for another battle.

Both Gaara and Sakura looked at Teresa as if she had gain a second head before looking over at the crab like creature in the distance. Then after a minute both sighed and shook their heads. "We'll take that as they are not to be trifled with then."

Irene and Teresa nodded, slowly marching towards the town with Gaara and Sakura in tow, going to take care of the beast before they headed out. However as they prepared for combat yet again both Gaara and Sakura had a similar thought cross their mind.

'Just how powerful had Naruto become?'

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to have a very unpleasant surprise waiting for me when I return?" Naruto wondered out loud about the ominous shiver he just had.

Putting that aside for now, not going to worry about it for at least now, Naruto groaned immensely at entry way of Riful's lair. "Of course... The damn poles again. Great, my sensory has just been shot to hell."

Taking a few strides into the hallway, five yoma leap from their positions. Their fate was immediately sealed as kunai lodged itself into each of their heads, dropping them like flies and leaving Naruto to grumble. "I said my sensory, not my sight or hearing... Retards. Sorry, that's insult to even them! You guys are even below retarded!"

Retrieving his kunai, since there wasn't a blacksmith within the lands that could forge the knives to his specific caliber, Naruto sniffed the air after drawing an insignificant amount of Kyuubi's chakra to his nose. Once again it was hard to locate the girl's scent trails thank to Dauf's poles but he was able to locate them nonetheless.

Dispatching a few more yoma that tried to ambush him, thinking a human wandering in was an easy meal, Naruto was glad he was able to follow the girl's scents. However he berated himself for not adding a Hiraishin seal along with the hearing bug seal so he could instantaneously teleported over there and get this over with.

"Okay... Three paths. Why does this seem familiar?" Naruto mused as he ran into a fork in the road and the sent of Dauf had finally faded over the warrior's scent. "Wait... Ugh! Do not need to be thinking about that right now! Seriously, I might just take up Luciela's offer so I can get my mind out of the gutter!"

Overcoming his faint delay of sanity, Naruto picked up a rock and tossed it a few times as he took a guess in which tunnel they would be in. Then after a guess he hurled the rock into the middle tunnel. A moment later a loud yell was heard. "**OW! WHICH ONE OF YOU HIT ME IN THE EYE?**"

"I'm not sure whether to attest that to luck or sheer skill..." Naruto held his mouth agape at actually hitting Dauf from in the distance, not even being able to see him from his vantage point.

"Maybe it is a combination of the two?" A feminine voice spoke from behind Naruto.

"Shut it Riful..." Naruto waved the petite Abyssal off, not even surprised that she had suddenly appeared behind him, and made his way to the hallway. "So are you going to try and stop me or are you just going to sit there?"

"I'll watch for now... After all it is no fun getting my hands dirty this early. It is quite easy to kill them and you within this confined space, you know?" Riful chirped as she sat on some of the rubble in the room, looking coy as she did.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the Abyssal overconfidence. "Whatever... Stay put here if you like. If not I can't guarantee you'll live long."

Riful frowned at this action and not even sensing the slightest bit of concern from the Akatsuki leader, she couldn't help but wonder just why it was he was so confident. Strength was absolute and once you reached your peak there was no further you could go...

And while he was powerful on his own, he was no match for her eight years ago and was only slightly superior to Dauf at that time. Sure he could hold his own against her and probably escape, that much she could credit him with since he did the same against Luciela, but to think he could outright defeat her...

Was nonsense.

So watching him with intensity as he arrived before the four warriors Dauf was about to destroy, Riful quietly examined the ninja before her eyes widened at what he did. "Just what are you... That should not be possible!"

* * *

"Jean! We need to retreat!" Raquel screamed to their squad's leader, as they were severely outmatched and each were heavily injured. She herself had a broken her left fibula and a few ribs and had a few other organs puncture that would take some time to be healed.

And she could say she was the least injured among the group.

Katea was in bad state. Both of her legs hand been crushed and there was no way she could be getting up soon. Even for a defensive warrior like her it took a massive amount of time to heal shattered bones. In fact it happened to be easier to regenerate a severed limb that was lost forever than to reassemble matter back to the way it was.

However there was no time to sever her limbs and let her regenerate now.

Their captain was doing the best out each of them, as she held in the back and attempted to draw upon her special technique. However since it required them to hold off their assailant to do so, she had not been able to launch it and was now dealing with a severe backlash by the brutish Awakened they were battling.

Finally there was Maria. She technically was doing the worst out of everyone, baring Raquel's injuries, and had been knocked out cold from two vicious blows from the Awakened.

Needless to say they were on their last legs and had to get out of here.

Slowly pulling herself back to her feet, ignoring the blood dripping down the side of her head, Jean gnashed her teeth together and nearly chipped a tooth in the process. The information her handler had given was completely off. This guy wasn't some a high teen warrior that had awakened... This was a single digit male that had awoke!

Only a top five warrior should be sent in with a party to deal with this guy!

"There's no way all of us can get out here... Raquel, get Katea and Maria out of here now! I'll try and hold him back!" Jean commanded her subordinate before rushing towards Dauf, attempting to by some time.

"**HAH! Like you can stall me!" **Dauf laughed and with almost no effort slammed her up against the wall with the back of his fist. "You're not even a challenge for me!"

Raquel's eyes widened at the beast's declaration and hearing Jean's tormented screams. Seeing how easily the Number Nine was being handled with the utmost ease, she knew they were doomed. They would be lucky if one of them was to get out and seeing that she was in the best shape out of all of them...

"Then what about me... Big boy." A taunting voice came from the darkness of the hallway, a dark silhouette forming as a lone man made his way closer to the fight scene.

"**Huh?**" Dauf stupidly replied, almost not registering that someone else to play with had arrived. "**Who the hell are you?**"

"Aah, you don't remember little ole me from our last duel. That makes me _so sad..._" Naruto playful moped that Dauf didn't remember who he was, appearing out of the shadows and revealing his form to all that were there.

Raquel's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the man. It just seemed things were going from bad to a hellish nightmare in a second. Not only was her squad completely outmatched by this Awakened now their luck had become even more rotten as the Abyssal Warrior, a man so powerful that every warrior was given his description so they could feel on sight of him, had arrived on the scene.

Yet as he bypassed her entirely, his focus set on the brutish Awakened before them, she realized there was a chance and would have sprinted away if Naruto's voice hadn't stopped. "I wouldn't think about it... This big boy's mistress is just down the hall watching us. And she is by far the stronger of the two."

Freezing at his words, hearing that there was another Awakened in the are, Raquel was thrown in a dilemma. There was no way she could simply just stay here, knowing that either the Abyssal Warrior or the Brute would kill her. But if she fled there was a chance she would be disemboweled by the Awakened that awaited them from behind.

However noting a battle was about to happen, she would take her chances. She took off running, praying she would get out alive.

"**HEY! Where do you think you're going?**" Dauf roared in annoyance as his prey attempted to flee and he wasn't having any of that.

Aiming one of his fingers towards where the girl was running, accidentally releasing Jean in the process, Dauf had no need to concentrate and knew his aim was true. He fired one of his trademark poles harder than any diamond, planning on ripping the girl in half.

"You fool!" Naruto roared and quickly moved to save the girl and acted out of instinct, knocking her down just as the pole would have hit her.

"**Ha! You foolish human! No one could stand up to my... Why is it not moving?**" Dauf roared in laughter at the human's sentimentality, absently noting no human should have been able to cover so much ground in that short amount of time, before taking note that it seemed his pole had stopped in mid air.

With two hands on the edges of the small finger pole, Naruto grunted with effort before tossing it to the side. Catching that had been a lot more difficult than he had expect, not realizing that much power went into those attacks. "Man... I'm not going to be able to catch one of those again."

Jean, who was now slumped against the rubble covered wall, couldn't believe what she had just seen. A man had stopped this creatures attack like it was nothing. He had stopped the attack that had crushed Katea's legs and the one that nearly skewered them alive.

Was this the power of the Abyssal Warrior? And better yet... Why was he trying to save them.

"And I'll say this one more time... Stay put if you want to live." Naruto grunted at the girl behind him, cracking his knuckles. This was going to be fun...

He hadn't had a real fight in ages! At least not any competitive fights...

This time Raquel didn't move an inch outside of nodding her head, realizing that the man had saved her life. There was no way in hell she was going to argue with someone that she now technically owed a life debt to.

After digesting what had happened before his eyes, the massive lug of an awaken finally realized who he was dealing with. "**Wait... Wait... HOLY! I REMEMBER YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT BESTED ME ALL THOSE YEARS AGO! YOU PRICK! I'LL KILL YOU!**"

"Oh for fuck sake... Now you remember!" A feminine voice roared in the back, obviously showing Riful was quite annoyed with her man's lack of intelligence and memory at that.

Only Naruto had heard that since it was meant to be an outburst to herself. He still cracked a grin at that. How Dauf had survived all these years with Riful was beyond him. He would have thought the lug's stupidity would have gotten him killed by now. But he guessed love conquered all...

Even Dauf's idiocy.

"Why... Why are you helping us?" Naruto absently noted that the girl behind him had finally spoke again.

Turning his head to meet her gaze, the blonde absently grinned at her like he always did. "What, didn't you know? The hero always arrives in the end to save the day."

Seeing the shock on Raquel's face, feeling his words had the effect he wanted, the Akatsuki leader turned back and faced the menace before him. Now a more deviant grin appeared on his face, noting Dauf was charging one of his more powerful pole launching attacks...

He absently noted that it came from the mouth...

'God dammit... I'm so going to take Luciela's offer when I get back... And when I finally die and meet my love ones in the after life, I am_** MURDERING **_Jiraiya! Fucking super pervert and his corruptive will...' Naruto mentally groaned at the perverse images popping into his head at the worst possible times.

Charging a Rasengan in his right hand, bring his left hand to his elbow to brace his arm, Naruto's manic grinned was on full display to everyone before him. "Let's go wild!"

"Rasen Taihō!"

* * *

**A/N2**: Yay! Another chapter complete! And it is another cliffhanger, mainly because I thought this as a great stopping point and the fact the chapter is long enough. Don't expect chapters to get exceed 10000 words again and expect shorter, 5000-7000 word chapters in the future. Their a little easier for me to write.

Also on a side note, 19 is finished and will be out sometime next week. Hoping to finish 20 soon.

Jutsu List:

Sunanoni shōheki - Sand Barrier

Ryūsa Bakuryū - Sand Tsunami

Rasen Taihō - Spiral Cannon

Anyways with that said and the jutsu clarified, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you have any questions let me know and I'll get back to you.

Peace Out!


	19. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

**A/N** : Well here is the continuation of the last chapter. They originally were going to be one chapter but the overall length of the first fight kept me from doing that. Instead I split it and made this chapter, deviating slightly from what I would have done if they were one full chapter.

Also to note I've changed Rasengan Ho to Rasen Taiho since it sounds a little better. Credit for that goes to Fangking2. Made the change last chapter as well.

Anyways with that all said and done, let the party start. Here is the next chapter, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.

* * *

"Rasen Taihō!"

Dauf immediately countered by firing his pole and had a smug grin on his face. However that was soon to be erased.

A flare of blue light flashed and an eruptive roar echoed through the tunnel, temporarily blinded and deafened each of the warriors and even Dauf and to a lesser extent, Riful. It sounded like a roar of a massive lion bellowed and for those that vision was not impaired, or horribly impaired, an orb of energy traveled through the flash of blue light.

And in almost a blink of an eye the flash faded and hearing slowly returned to the warriors only to be impaired by the bulky awakens scream of agony. Pieces of the pole the awakened had fired were scattered across the hallway however the majority had been grinded into dust.

The Rasengan had torn through his armored skin and went through and through his shoulder, ripping and tearing a much larger whole than the size of the attack. Blood gushed from the entry and exit of the wound, splashing and splattering onto the ground, some splattering onto Jean's legs due to the negligible distance between her and the giant.

"**OH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"** Dauf screeched as his other hand reached over and gripped his wound in an attempt to reduce the blood flow before his eyes gazed upon the smirking blonde. "**You bastard! I will peel your skin off for this!**"

"Like to see you try." Naruto's manic grin did not leave his face and an almost blood lusting glint shone within his eye. "Only my better would be able to do that... And you are not better than me!"

Instead of a response, Dauf roared and fired multiple rods towards Naruto and the warriors. In a blink of an eye, Naruto disappeared and the poles pierced into the ground. The ones that would have hit the girls, while not fatal since part of him remembered that he needed them alive to please Riful, did not hit their target.

Nothing was there and the only two that were still in the same spot as before were Raquel and Jean since there was no chance of them being hit.

Appearing next to Raquel, Naruto bent over and laid Katea and Maria next to her before looking up and into her eyes. "Move them to a safer location down the hallway. Don't go too far... The Abyssal is waiting in the opening so whatever you do, stay within this hallway."

"If she tries anything... Throw this into the ground and it will protect you." Naruto slid her a normal enough looking kunai that was quite abnormal with various ruins carved into them added with ink drawn in the grooves to give it an odd feel to it. "Once you throw it I'll get there soon as possible to deter her and give you a clear run way out of here."

"What about Jean?" Katea spoke, carefully gazing towards the man they were suppose to fear but with more worry on what would happen to her comrade.

"I'm going to have to get her away from the big lug. Once I do I'll send her on her way to you." Naruto responded before noting that Dauf had noticed him and was targeting him. "Go now! I'll deal with this!"

"**There you are you little pest! Die!**" Dauf shot forth a massive spine from his throat and towards Naruto and the three.

This forced Naruto to defend, limiting what he was capable of and due to the strength of the attack it severely limited what techniques he could apply to stop it. However there was no time to draw upon one of the more complicated techniques and stuck with an old favorite.

A Rasengan formed in both of his hands and he drove them forward to meet the pole, enhancing his arms with chakra to brace himself for the impact. Two normal Rasengans had nowhere near the strength of his Rasengan Cannon and he knew this would be a strain as they met the spine.

Using chakra to keep his footing and to not to loose traction, Naruto was driven back by the fired pole. The two orbs did what they could and grinded into it but it hardly did him any favors. All they were truly doing was acting as gloves and restraints to keep the full pressure place onto his arms.

Grimacing in agony, ignoring the slight snap or two that he caught, he kept pushing against spine. Finally he was able to overpower it and stand his ground, letting the pole drop to the ground harmlessly.

Without any hesitation, Naruto grabbed his right forearm and snapped his elbow back into place. It was far from being fine but with trace amounts of Kyuubi's chakra quickly reaching to broken bone it would heal. He would just have to put off the pain until he could deal with it.

"**What the hell? Again! You stopped it again!**" Dauf roared in annoyance, not understanding how this was the third one he stopped, the second one seemingly by his hands. "**What the fuck are you? Are you even human anymore?**"

"Who knows?" Naruto shrugged before tilting his head just enough to pop his neck. "I'm not even sure myself if I'm entirely human anymore. But that is not a discussion for a battlefield... Besides, you won't be alive long enough to hear the full story."

"**You cocky son of... I'm going to rip you apart!**" Dauf fired back in rage, temporarily forgetting about the wound in his shoulder, and attempt to run out and grab Naruto.

Simply jumping out of the way, seeing that Raquel was managing to lift the other warriors and head down further into the hall and away from this fight, Naruto landed a few feet from Dauf's knuckles. "Weren't you going to skin me alive? Come on bud, can't you remember your own threats?"

"**Huh? I never said anything about that.**" Dauf stated and looked confused at Naruto, wondering just what in the world the world he meant by that.

"I swear to... In a castle, off a cliff!" Naruto noted Riful's scream to herself yet again at her man's lack of memory and intelligence and smirked at that.

"You do know even if you survive past this day... Your woman going to beat the yoma right out of you." Naruto responded with a smug smirk while using a term he had caught quite a few people say during his travels and even Teresa said it once, aimed towards him obviously.

"**Huh? Why would Riful do that?**" Dauf was now even further confused and slightly fearful that the blonde knew something he didn't.

He never wanted to be on Riful's bad side. After century or so, he wasn't so great with time, with her kind taught him that much.

"Many reasons..." Naruto answered cryptically. "So can we continue or do you want to piss her off even more by letting yourself get delayed and allowing my clone to get her out of here?"

"**What?**" Dauf roared before noting that Naruto pointed his thumb over to a clone of his carrying Jean down in the hallway, towards where he knew the other three were waiting. "**Oh hell... Riful is going to kill me!**"

Ignoring the bead of sweat falling from the back of his head, Naruto twitched at the mammoth before him. "You... Are kind of slow aren't you?"

"**No I'm not! Watch me squish you**!" Dauf growled before smashing the spot where Naruto had been seconds before, having jumped back to avoid being crushed into a pulp.

The bead of sweat double in size as Naruto dead panned at the monster before him. He really was slow and verbal banter was getting him nowhere outside of having a slight headache... And some funny moments due to Riful's screaming.

"Dammit Dauf! I swear I'm going to enjoy every second of watching you get beat down! Then I'm going to make your life miserable after I'm finished with him! And just maybe I'll make him my man instead so I won't have to deal with this anymore!" Riful screeched from her vantage point, highly annoyed at her man.

'Better not waste too much more chakra on Dauf. I want to keep a good reserve for Riful. She might be the weakest of the Abyssals now but she by far the hardest to kill. And since she is a master of focusing her rage... She could be of some difficulty at this moment.' Naruto noted before bringing his attention back onto the brute.

Waiting for his next swing, which took no time for the mammoth to try and connect with a punch, Naruto shifted his foot ever so slightly before literally disappearing.

Shunpo was only outclassed by Hiraishin in terms of speed and the amount of chakra it used. The latter was considered the fastest technique ever created and took an insignificant amount of chakra to use, insignificant to Naruto at least, thanks to his father's design. However the former was far more practical in the fact that it did not require a set up and could be used on will, not wherever and whenever there was a mark.

The speed also varied on the person using it, the faster the user the faster Shunpo was. So in terms he was the fastest, though he would make a point that if Teresa or Luciela were on his level they would be most definitely faster than he was.

Speed wasn't one of his best attributes.

Suddenly appearing next to Dauf's head, hanging sideways, he pumped his leg full of chakra and drove his foot into Dauf's right cheek. A few more snaps were heard, thankfully all foot bones in this case, but the blow was enough to stagger the massive humanoid awakened back and into the wall, sliding against it as he couldn't stop staggering.

Quickly forming seals, Naruto finished in the tora seal and a deep breath before exhaling a breath of scorching flames that caught even the stone walls on fire. "Katon: Shōdo!"

Shōdo was a deadly technique, one like never seen before, and for the longest time it happened to be one of the few personal fire jutsu that belonged to Iwa. Thanks to the Sharingan Konoha learned it but even then, they had never used it like the Rock had.

When Minato had the Rock on the run, they used this devastating technique to burn crops and all life in the area to ashes and only took what they needed to survive. Overall it was an effective tactic for it nearly drained Konoha of supplies and the Cloud nearly arrived for aid would have forced Konoha to retreat possibly surrender, but Suna got there first with enough supplies to hold and Iwa was taken out of the war after surrendering.

Bringing his attention back onto the fight, Naruto landed in a crouch and smirked hearing Dauf scream in pain like never before. It also was a devastating attack and more would have used it if Iwa didn't lack those with fire affinities and it took a good deal of chakra. However that was no problem for Naruto.

Chakra was his highest attribute after all, possessing enough to rival the Four Tail.

Watching the oaf scream as he tried to pat the fire out, Naruto took advantage of the situation and drew upon Luciela's sword and with a twitch of his foot he dispersed. Dozens of cuts began to rack upon Dauf, one catching his eye and cutting it wide open, gashing into his armored skin but not enough to completely piercing into his flesh.

One would call this a useless tactic and a waste of chakra, but the damage quickly became apparent as Dauf roared out after the flurry finished, putting out the fire in the process. Naruto simply landed back to the spot he possessed moments before while the giant panted heavily, bleeding profusely.

Finally Dauf fell to one knee, his right eye swollen shut with blood pouring from the rupture. "**Dammit... You bastard! I'll... I'LL CRUSH YOU FOR THIS!**"

Surging from a burst of yoki, he rushed forward with full intent on collapsing on top of Naruto, but the blonde vanished with a flicker of gold allowing Dauf to scrape against the stone floor. The instant after the blonde appeared on top of him in a gold flicker, holding his blade against the back of Dauf's neck.

"It's over." Naruto lifted his sword and grasped the hilt with both hands, planning on severing the armored giant's head off with a single strike.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Riful's voice echoed before she appeared before him in a gathering of tendrils, holding onto each of the warriors, while waving his kunai in her hand that had not been transformed.. "Otherwise I'll just have to tear them apart since they are what you came here for, isn't that right? To think you thought these girls would have enough time to activate the secret of that knife of yours."

Narrowing his eyes a degree, Naruto drew his sword to his side and gazed towards Riful before his eyes shifted and held a tint of amusement within them. "I see you care for this big boy more than you let on... This is the second time you've saved him from me."

"What can I say... He is my man." Riful honestly answered with a slight waver in her eyes, a look of deep care and possibly even love directed at the awakened beneath Naruto's feet. "Now would you kindly get off my man."

Doing what she said Naruto was to step forward before her tendrils suddenly tighten along the warriors, making them cry out, and her eyes narrowed. "No, to the side. Take a step closer and I'll kill them."

Repressing the smirk on his lips at how Riful was dealing with the situation, Naruto did exactly what she said and stepped off to the side. In that instant, Dauf's reached and gripped the blonde and pushed himself up with his other. "**I said I'm going to crush...**"

"You will do no such thing!" Riful hissed at Dauf, who was about to squeeze Naruto to a pulp, and had separated another couple of tendrils from her body to make sure. "We need him if we're going to turn the tide of this confrontation that is soon to explode!"

"**But... But...**" Dauf tried to responded but after one glance into his love's eyes, he surrender and instead held Naruto firm. "**Okay... Can I at least tear off a limb or two?**"

Knowing her lover's low mental state and knowing what it took to keep him sated, Riful weighed the options before nodding. "That'll be fine. I'm sure he can recover from that in time... Why are you laughing, human?"

Naruto continued to laugh, a maniacal grin spreading on his face, before Riful noted something extraordinarily odd. The sword was no longer in Dauf's grip and nowhere near where Naruto had been or on the ground at that. "What? What is this feeling? ...DAUF! LET GO OF HIM NOW!"

"**Wha...**" Dauf tried to figure out why Riful was warning him before noting a similar glow from the blonde, not unlike his memory of what those mass of clones had done before...

It was too late and in a vicious eruption of pure chakra, Dauf screamed out as his hands dissolved from the ferocity of the explosion and knocked him on his back. He soon reverted back to his human state, clutching his blood stumps of arms to his chest and letting them bleed profusely on him.

Riful had no time to react and shred the girls in her grip as she gritted in pain, feeling the tendrils be sliced and the warriors freed. Then in an instant, Naruto was before her and drew his sword down to sever her in two. She would have normally have allowed this and split her body apart to avoid the strike and catch it with her body but she knew there was more then enough strength to actually cause her serious damage.

So splitting in near half, keeping a connection of her body deep underground, Riful's tendrils gathered next to Dauf while Naruto stood in front of the four. "So... Plan on surrendering or do I have to cut you down as well?"

Yowling under her breath, enraged at what he had done to Dauf, tendrils began to slide from Riful's nude body thanks to her dress being split due to her quick escape. "Don't count your victory just yet... You are deep in my lair and with a flick of my power I can collapse this entire thing onto you! It is you that will be surrendering to my will here!"

"I don't see that happening in my lifetime." Naruto responded and held his blade before him, aiming it straight at Riful's form. "You may have been stronger than me when I first arrive but unlike you demons I hone my skills and grow stronger everyday. With enough time I will even become stronger than the legendary Juubi no Hakai Keshin."

"Juubi..." Riful looked a little surprised at the name and it took a little recall before her eyes widened then quickly narrowed. "You say you can become stronger than the legendary beast? The beast whose flesh that we Awakens and warriors are derived from?"

That was a new one. Naruto had not expected that. Not in a hundred years would he have thought that Claymores were made from the flesh, and probably at this point DNA, of the Juubi. And that was quite unsettling and he would have to dig up everything on the organization for that alone and if it proved true...

He had a reason to eliminate them and destroy all their research. Something like that could never get into the hands of someone like Orochimaru or Madara.

Not letting this disturbing revelation show on his face, Naruto simply smirked. "I'm already nearing that plateau. As of this moment, I stand alone at the top! There isn't anyone that is a match for me!"

Keeping her eyes narrowed, Riful's tendrils wrapped around Dauf, protectively cradling him in her clutches, yoki poured from her being before she finally snarled out. "Fine then. I see you have chosen your path and I rather bury you then ever let your power or the power of that beast inside of you ever be used against me!"

"**LET THIS CASTLE BE YOUR TOMBSTONE**!" Riful transformed, tendrils rapidly ripping everything to shreds and splitting the hall in half, content on letting the rubble crush all inside as she escape unharmed with Dauf.

Watching above as the lair crumbled down and onto her enemy, Riful had a deep frown on her awakened face. She had not wanted it to come to this point. Not only had she lost the key to this war that was ready to split at the seams, she had to destroy her favored lair. While she could easily replace the latter...

She was going to need more help to keep from falling when the fighting broke out. Maybe if she was lucky and she stayed out she could kill those that remained standing, but somehow she doubted that and knew someone would be coming for her.

And it also unnerved her that she could sense she was being sensed. Yet the person was so well hidden that she could not locate them and eliminate the possible threat. However that could leave Dauf vulnerable and she wasn't going to do that.

He was her man after all.

However all these thoughts came crashing down sensing the last thing she wanted to. The four warriors were carefully placed down just outside the rubble and standing before them was the bane of her current predicament. "**How? How did you escape? That should not be possible!**"

"Everything is possible. All it takes it the will power to overcome what is supposedly impossible." Naruto countered as he turned to the truly massive form of Riful, which dwarfed Dauf by ten fold if not twenty to thirty.

Yowling under her breath, almost wanting to hiss at the blonde nuisance, Riful kept her composure. "**I see. I might have underestimated your abilities but it will not happen again. Mark my words, today is your last day of life.**"

"Then you better pray you have back-up. As things stand right now... You only have one way to emerge victorious. Now let's see if you know what that is." Naruto slid Luciela's sword into the holder onto his back. "In fact, I'll give you a handicap and put away my blade. Let's go."

Riful was many things but a fool was not one of them. She wouldn't let him goad her into attacking. That was exactly what he wanted and if she did that she would fall into his trap. She wasn't sure what exactly it was he would do but no matter what it could not bode well for her. So it would be best to pay caution and lure him into a false sense of security.

"**Confident, are we?**" Riful grinned sultry as she initiated her plan of attack. "**You know if you were about a hundred years older you I would have dumped Dauf at first sight of you. Smart, quick-witted not to mention powerful and I must say very, very attractive. It's just too bad I'm madly in love with Dauf now and your with that bitch of the south.**"

Looking puzzled for a moment at her unusual reaction, as most women would have jumped him and started to try and kill him at this point, Naruto couldn't help but feel something was off. Then with a grin, realizing Dauf's poles were no longer interfering with his sensory, Naruto drew a kunai. "And you're just trying to distract me with your flattery from the tendrils you are tunneling beneath me. Ta-ta!"

"**NO!**" Riful screeched as her tendrils pierced through the ground, attempting to skewer Naruto but it was too late and he had disappeared from the spot.

With her eyes she quickly noticed this wasn't like before and was able to keep up with a black blur. It quickly led to her realizing that he had been using energy to supplement his speed before and either he thought she wasn't worth it or he was trying to be sparring with his energy in order to not waste it.

Either way she knew he had hardly wasted enough on Dauf to be running low seeing that she could at least sense his aura. And that did not bode well for her in the slightest.

Aiming carefully, trying to aim ahead of Naruto so she would either hit him or force him to change directions, she fired her tendrils. To her horror Naruto easily evaded and even slid between two and continue his course towards her body.

Feeling him beginning to build for an attack, Riful knew her options suddenly had become limited. She could feel the raw energy coming from this attack, feeling very much like the one he had used against Dauf in their duel near a decade ago, and knew that this attack would tear her to shreds if she let him prepare it much less let it make contact.

In response, she released her body in mass, slicing everything in the nearby radius into dust. However a deep frown scorned her face. She had not hit a single body in the process. She knew that she had been in range of both Naruto and the four warriors yet she did not hit any of them. The former was easier to explain but how did they escape.

Again her eyes fell upon Naruto having managed to rescue the four once more in a mere instant and having taken them out of her range. It was as if he was instantaneously teleporting where ever he choose and anyone he touched would be taken with him. That would explain how he had not only escaped from deep within the lair as it collapsed but even her last attack.

However it was simply a wonder why he had not used it in combat against her just yet. She realized she witnessed its usage against Dauf's last ditch attempt to defeat him. He hadn't moved until the last second when his hair was grazed by her man's body and then he disappeared in a flicker of golden light.

So what was keeping him from using it? There had to be something that kept him from doing so just what was it. Was there some sort of mechanism to make it work? Did it require certain conditions or was it simply an evasion technique and could not be used for attack outside of very certain circumstances?

"Alright... You four better get out of here if you want to live. I might not be able to react so quickly if she does that again." Naruto whispered to the warriors. "Go! She's going to attack again soon and I can't have you in the cross fire otherwise this fight will keep getting delayed and give her a chance to win."

Knowing that he was right, Jean nodded before turning to Raquel since she was in the best shape out of them. "Raquel, pick up Katea and get her out of here. I'll carry Maria and be right behind you. Do not hesitate and do not, whatever you do, look back."

Following her captains orders, Raquel did as requested and hefted Katea on her shoulders and Jean quickly followed and lifted the unconscious Maria bridal style. Yet just before they were rushed off, Jean turned back to Naruto and noted he had turned his back on her and was facing the Abyssal. "I know what you said to Rachel before... By why are you really doing this? You aren't doing this just to win our hearts over, I know better than that."

"Heh, well that much I'll give you credit for." Naruto would have scratched the back of his head nervously if the situation wasn't as it was but instead kept his poise and stared down Riful. "But the truth is that I rather let the warriors live so they can deal with the Yoma and Awakens that are a danger after I obliterate the organization..."

"For if what Riful said is true I cannot allow such a thing to exist any longer. I will not allow anyone attempt to recreate those horrible tales of legend about how Juubi devastated the world come to fruition once more... For the legend is no legend. It happened." Naruto explained himself before brushing her off with a wave of his hand. "Go before this gets ugly. I can handle this bitch by myself."

Keeping a stern face, not letting any emotion cross or a muscle twitch, Jean turned without another word and fell behind Raquel, carrying their wounded comrades.

"**Oh no you don't!**" Riful bellowed, not feeling in a giving mood, and wasn't going to let anyone out of here alive.

Her ribbons slashed in their direction, aimed to cut them down before they could leave, but she knew better than to leave Naruto alone for he would intervene yet again and she knew it. So sending more of her strips to skewer him, or at the very least, for him to dodge and cover his hide for once.

But something happened this time... Something she couldn't predict.

Naruto did a simple ram seal and channeled chakra before hell broke loose. "Fuinjutsu: Tamashī Doren."

It all happened too suddenly. Her very being had immediately lost it's momentum and her ribbons lost the tremendous speed they once possessed, allowing both warriors to easily dodge as they failed to do anything more to the trees and ground around them other than slightly gash them.

Riful suddenly felt very tired and it was a struggle to stay awake, much less her transformed state. But with her strong will she fought off the weariness and growled at the man who now changed his hands to a different position. And then it all became too clear for her.

He had somehow drained her yoki and now was prepared to finish it. So in a last ditch effort she lashed out at him but it was too late.

"Katon: Shōdo." The same flames that have viciously burned her man roared before her before he created a few more hand seals as the very air behind him began viciously and violently whirled. "Futon: Harikēngeiru."

The wind ripped through the flames, gathering them into the currents and engulfing the entire windstorm in a blazing sea. And with her sudden weakened state there would be no way for her to dodge this.

As the burning winds were prepared to engulf her, Riful knew there was only one thing she could do. Dauf was still exposed and this attack would surely finish him. She... She couldn't let that happen. Despite everything she said and her frustration aimed towards the former Number Three she loved him.

Truly and forever.

And with her last act, her ribbons formed around him in a massive sphere and shielded him at the last second before the inferno consumed her whole, her flesh and ribbons incinerating on contact.

Within the sphere as the blaze surrounded them, slowly but surely burning through her ribbons, Riful's human formed appeared before Dauf and embraced him. "I'm sorry... Maybe in the next life... I can finally tell you the truth..."

"Riful..." Dauf's exhausted and bleeding form reached out and clinched onto her, tears soaking in with the blood on his face. "I love you..."

A gloomy smile made its way onto the Abyssal's lips. Reaching a hand towards Dauf, she lightly caressed his cheek before leaning in and kissing his lips just as the inferno was ready to swallow them whole. "So do I my love... So do I."

But as the flames wrapped around their bodies, a soft glow emanated from Riful's body and the gale and flames began to recede. Almost on instinct, realizing it was not from her, she drew out the offending object to see the kunai she had taken from the warrior.

"Fuinjutsu: Tamashī Doren." Both heard as the inferno died completely and the Akatsuki leader stood before the nude pair.

Neither was sure what to expect as they should have been incinerated and here the blonde was, standing before them in almost an act of mercy as he gazed upon the two. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust... Your lives have now ended as there is no trace of your yoki to be sensed any longer."

"What?" Riful responded, unsure just what in the world happened and couldn't wrap her head around it.

And if she couldn't there was no way in the world Dauf was able to. That much she was sure.

"It's quite simple really. To the organization you both are now dead and the sensor that was watching this fight has now left to report your death." Naruto explained before taking the engraved kunai from Riful and pocketing it. "And with your deaths your lives belong to me. You will follow me unconditionally for I spared your lives for a purpose."

"So rest now and recover. For soon the final battle will begin." Naruto turned and began to slowly walk away from the two Awakens. "And before it is over they will never know what is about to hit them. The will fall."

"Juubi will never be resurrected again. I will not let Madara's fantasy ever come to fruition!"

* * *

**A/N2**: And there is the chapter and I hope there are a few jaws dropped.

Naruto sparing Riful and Dauf was according to my original plan but I had schemed to have made it look as if Naruto actually killed both to the readers and that her reappearance later would be shocking. Almost still went that direction but I felt what I did here was better by fortifying Naruto resolve to obliterate the organization.

The Juubi's flesh/DNA being used for the creation of Claymores was something I threw in at the last second, realizing it would have made a lot of sense to how Naruto was summoned in the first place.

And to note it might be another month or two before an update since I'll be away from the computer for a while. I was hoping to get chapter 20 out but it doesn't seem like that will happen.

Anyways, I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter and another one will soon, hopefully, follow. So if you have any questions you can redirect them to that brick wall over there... Also known as the review button.

Created Jutsu:

Rasen Taihō - Spiral Cannon

Katon: Shōdo - Fire Style: Scorched Earth

Fuinjutsu: Tamashī Doren - Sealing Technique: Soul Drain

Futon: Harikēngeiru - Wind Style: Hurricane Gale

Peace Out.

Beta, BowTechSniper


	20. The Twin Snakes

**A/N**: And here's an update, yay! I had to hand write this thing so it was very difficult. But now I've managed to get it typed and I feel it is just right. So hold onto your seats and enjoy the ride, here is the next start of the next arc; The Twin Snakes!

* * *

Everything was surreal. She wasn't sure what was happening anymore as something was severely off.

Luciela had been patiently waiting for Naruto's return wondering if Naruto had actually killed Riful, since she felt the Abyssal's yoki vanish, or if he had used his sealing techniques to reduce her signature to practically nothing so he could flip her, having her join their efforts. For compensation of course...

Neither expected her to fight for them for free.

While she would hate it with another Abyssal around, especially one far older and with better knowledge of their world than her, she would be one of the first to admit that another Abyssal level warrior in their forces would make them a formidable force, one like any other...

If they could build an army around them. It would be kind of useless to have the elites have to fight all the battle and potentially get struck down by a lucky blow from a common soldier.

So far that had been the one hurdle they had yet to get around, however, for all she knew Naruto had some secret force he was waiting to reveal at the last possible second. She wouldn't put it past him seeing how often he roamed the island continent, checking on things he had told her not to worry about...

Needless to say she would worry. She trusted her man... Just not that much. Not after his little run-offs early on in their relationship.

He was a sneaky bastard about things like that anyways. He had to be, she knew that much. He was a ninja. Secrecy was how one lived and how he lived. She didn't like it one bit but she could accept it at the very least.

At the very least he did tell her of his more intimate details, separating anything really work related outside of his stories of people he ran across like the demon of the mist and the horrible snake in the grass. She couldn't recall their names but she remembered they were important in his stories, though for two entirely different reasons.

Luciela wasn't sure why he wouldn't talk much about what he did as a shinobi, leaving out little details that pertained to his mission. It was kind of annoying really, since he was no longer a part of that village anyways, but it was understandable in the same notion. If it came to the secrecy of the village he would not divulge information about it to anyone, including those he cared for unless they were part of the operation.

It was strange, sure enough. He was and would be warring against his home village on their arrival but he still held it to the highest esteem and wanted to bring Konoha back to its prior glory as in the days of the previous five Hokages.

An oddity she admitted and he even said so himself.

However she put her thoughts out of her head and focused on this strange sensation, one she could not put a finger on but one she didn't like. It felt as if someone was here yet she could not sense them. And that bothered her.

She did sense quite a bit of yoki in the area, but she knew that happened to be a legion of Awakens from the east, slowly heading towards their location. She would not worry of them. She could handle them on her own with no problem, so it was nothing to worry about and would simply inform Flora to hide Clare and the boy soon since they would be on them by the morn.

Luciela had also noted that for the first time in recent recollection that Alicia and Beth were out of the organization headquarters. A grave worry but one that was to be expect with a war brewing since they would have to get real data on how they could perform soon.

They were rather difficult to detect but she had noticed their presence on the tip of the eastern expanse, ready to head west. Well she could sense Alicia anyways. Beth was rather difficult to locate. She was the suppresser and therefore kept her yoki concealed and controlled so she could take Alicia's human soul so she could awaken, keeping her under control during her the process.

While it bothered her that they seemed to have succeeded where she and Rafaela had failed, something that she was sure troubled her sister wherever she was, it wouldn't be enough. In a fight against an Abyssal on their own they would fall because of Beth due to her limiting what she could do on a massive scale.

And that was why she didn't worry that they seemed to be ready to head west. If Naruto was their target, they would fail miserably. From just how easily he handled Riful and her man... They didn't stand a chance.

Yet this odd sensation did not settle and it was driving her batty. There was something wrong and she couldn't figure out what it was and prevent it from marring her lands. Sure sensory wasn't her best attribute and it paled to Naruto while in his Sage Form and she couldn't even began to fathom how it compared to Teresa's but it was not something she let dwindle away, learning just how useful it was from Naruto and Teresa.

Not only this but there was an odd scent in the air and she couldn't place it. It smelt almost reptilian, an odd smell to be so strong, but nothing like a reptile like Awaken she had ever smelt before.

So not being able to put this aside and knowing something bad could and most likely would occur soon, Luciela pin pointed Flora's location. She wouldn't even bother to check if Raki or Clare's were there. She could hardly even sense either of them, Clare more so than the boy. Her aura blended in with the environment.

Arriving into a clearing to see Flora training Raki in how to wield a blade, Luciela stopped and watched them for a little. Raki seemed tired and his arms were exhausted, not that she was surprised, while Flora seemed a little exasperated. She was quite sure the warrior had never taught anyone how to use a blade before and it was coming off quite difficult.

Flora was indeed growing frustrated. She was use to much faster swings and while she knew he was only human and just a young boy at that, it still didn't mean she couldn't get frustrated with his progress. He hardly was able to move his sword enough to block her laziest attempts swinging ever.

She had to practice on Clare first to show him and to see the sudden drop in skill... Was extraordinarily disheartening. Maybe women were just better warriors after all and men were all about strength?

Still, the boy was making progress and she would at least tell him that much. "Good... Your stance is already improving upon what it was when we started. It will get better over time... But your swing is poor. You are not use to carrying such weight."

"You need to practice more with it, swinging it daily as much as you can." Luciela pitched in, walking into the clearing before taking the sword from Raki slicing the air before her with ease before following by stabbing it into the ground. "I might not use a blade any longer however I continue to learn more about wielding a blade.

Clare nodded in agreement before drawing her katana forth and held it before her with great ease. "This blade of mine may be much lighter than yours but it's much heavier than you'd expect. I had to get use to it before I was even allowed to practice stances and katas of the style my master uses."

"Use to use. He's adopted quite a bit of how warriors wield their blades to his style. To be a greater warrior one must constantly update their tactics and arsenal to match the growing world around them." Luciela added on before deciding to call an end to this session by turning to Flora. "Take them back to the base. I sense something is off and I don't want to risk them getting caught into something possibly dangerous."

Still unused to being in a presence of an Awakened, an Abyssal at that, Flora stiffened. She was a little surprised at this sudden order for it seemed that Luciela actually cared for the sake of two human's safety. However she did have to admit the Abyssal did care deeply for Naruto from all that she heard from Teresa and Irene.

But still... If something was off why hadn't she sensed it? So spreading out her senses, looking for something she could have missed, Flora frowned. Sensory wasn't one of her best attributes, especially compared those that did excel in it, but to be unable to detect something this close would take a massive oversight on her part.

And she wasn't willing to admit she had just let something like an Awaken sneak up on her. That would be a serious blow to her if she had.

Soon an unsettling sensation settled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why or what the sensation she received was but she did know one thing. She did not enjoy it. It felt as if something was creeping underneath her skin, coiling and ready to strike.

Not a settling feeling at all.

"Quickly! Something's here!" Luciela hissed, upset at the slow reaction and pick up of the former eight seed along with the slight insubordination on having to check her own sensors first before agreeing with her judgment.

Thankfully this time Flora reacted and was next to Raki, her sword drawn and ready to defend him. Clare held her katana carefully and stepped closer, forming almost a triangle position with Flora and Raki when it became obvious what the unsettling feeling had been.

Snakes poured from all around the clearing, slithering in unison as they charged the four. And these weren't just your ordinary boas and vipers. These snakes were gigantic in comparison, the smallest barring fangs dripping with that could be longer than a finger. And in size they were at least longer than Clare, possibly weighing more than her as well.

Not a good sign considering the biggest out matched the trees in both length and weight.

And to make matters worse there was almost no signature from them. That made it difficult to lock in on every single one since there were far too many to be counted with their sight. But it seemed not to matter as Luciela reacted. Every snake near her fell into dozens of bloody pieces as two tails whipped out from beneath her dress.

Her eyes began to glow, knowing this was not natural and snakes didn't hunt like this or grow to such size before she began to recall stories Naruto had told her of the man that wielded snakes and his cruel experiments. It reminded her quite a bit of Dae honestly but the man was far more twisted and had the power to back his ambitions.

Frowning, believing it could possibly be that man had been here all this time, Luciela flicked her tails yet again and massacred yet another wave of snakes that tried to surround her. It was a pathetic attempt and one that barely could register as a threat to her as these creatures were far too weak to bother an Abyssal.

Flora easily cut down every snake near her and Raki with her special ability, the Wind Cutter. It was very much like the QuickSword in the fact that it accelerated the speed of a swing but that was where the similarities stopped. Unlike it the Wind Cutter carried the wind along the blade and allowed it to extend its range to a much greater degree. And the coup d'égras was that it did not require yoki to unleash, being imbedded with only natural energy something Naruto commented on being very similar to his Sage Form in that regard.

Clare seemed to be ready to try and take care of a few of the snakes that neared her but Flora had quickly handled them too. She seemed to be a little upset but when her eyes crossed with Luciela's across the clearing before gulping. "Clare! Take Raki to the base now! Flora will cover you and stay on guard till this matter is settled!"

Flora was a little put off, knowing she could be of some use in this battle, but knew that the kids could not deal with this if there numbers were this great. Clare could deal with a good deal as these guys seemed to be rather weak but a few would get through and if her thoughts were correct they were most likely very poisonous.

But before she could get them out the mother of all snakes, one so massive that it dwarfed any Awakened she had ever seen, shredded through the forest and streamed towards them, slinging trees around like shrapnel as it did. It speed was far too great for them to out run and Flora couldn't easily carry both of them from this thing and could possibly get swallowed by the creature with its maw agape like it was.

It would have never had the chance if it had neared them.

Luciela disappeared from their vision but in that very instant the gargantuan snake was driven into the earth with such force that a massive cloud of dust billowed into the air from the impact.

Flipping down and landing before the three, her tails flicking madly behind her in the process, the Abyssal turned to them with her eyes aglow. "Why are you still here?"

This was the image that settled it for all three to get out of there. Flora gripped Raki by the nape of his shirt and turned to leave with Clare following and got a little distance behind them when another great snake, one nowhere near the size of the other but still quite formidable, struck. It lunged at Clare and the said teen could only draw her katana for defense and met the snake's maw with it.

The sheer strength behind it was far more than what Clare was ready before. The blunt end of her katana was driven into her chest, cutting through the clothes with ease and began to dig into her flesh. A slight cry of surprise and pain shot from her lips when she was driven into the ground and the snake's mouth open and ready to swallow her whole when it cried in pain.

Blood poured from gashes along the scales of its face, one catching its eye and popping it with ease, and the snake hissed out a roar of pain.

Flora stepped before Clare with her claymore held before her and Raki quickly was at her side, holding his broadsword before him in attempt to protect her. "Take Raki, Clare! You're the more experienced of the two and I need to be free so I can get you to safety! There are too many of these guys for either of you to handle!"

Seeing how Raki was ready to defend her and hearing Flora's words, Clare pulled herself to her feet and drew her katana before her and nodded, holding a hand to Raki. "Take my hand... This is out of our league. Flora can deal with them and any that get by we will have to cut down together."

Raki did want a chance to prove he could help Clare and protect her this time. But he realized that this was something neither were ready for and did not need to stick around for.

Luciela seemed to be handling the mass of them rather well anyways...

Having Raki grip her hand, the teen smiled at him for a moment before leading them in the direction she knew the cabin to be. Snakes tried to swarm them but Flora was immediately behind them, her hand on the hilt of her sword, before they were felled easily.

Seeing that they were out of the way, and Flora could deal with anything that they ran into, Luciela focused onto the gargantuan head that lifted from the dust, still quite dazed from her last blow. Smirking at the big creature, holding her hand out before her, it suddenly screeched out in agony and its body devastating the forest around him as it twitched uncontrollably.

A massive hole pierced through its head and the body slackened and came to a stop before the fingers on Luciela's hands retracted from their lance like form. "Nasty creature... Just what are you?"

Before she could even begin to think on just how this massive snake came into being, many more of great size rushed out of the ruined forest and towards her. She didn't even bother to treat them as if they were a threat to her and in moments blood showered around her as thousand chunks of flesh fell back to the earth.

But more importantly... They fell onto her dress, staining it with blood.

Luciela now was severely irritated.

This happened to be one of her favored dresses and one of her flashier, read revealing, she had. And the most important thing was that she was dirty and wreaked of snake essence, which she most decisively knew, was not a turn on and a way to attract Naruto to her.

And now she had to take a nice, long and thorough soak to rinse the blood and flesh from her as it wasn't easy to get off.

"That's it... Somebodies dying for this." She growled and pulsed her yoki to search for the culprit, praying that this guy couldn't disguise his signature like Naruto.

She would hate to have to ruin someone else's day by thrashing pour, semi innocent souls due to the anger she was feeling now.

However a frown slowly formed on her face, getting a reading and easily locking onto the location of the culprit. This guy made no attempt to hide himself and seemed to be waiting for her. This made her think even more of the stories Naruto had told her of the snake master known as Orochimaru.

Number one, this guy used snakes for his bidding. Number two, was way too cocky and seemingly thought she was no threat to him due to letting her sense him. And finally as she rushed to the spot she sensed him at, being able to clear a couple of miles in no time thanks to her top tier speed, and he hadn't moved an inch as she landed before him.

"Oh my... You must be quite formidable to dispatch my modified summons like that and arrive here so quickly... Ku ku ku, this will be very interesting indeed." The cloak figure spoke with a rasp, letting her know he indeed was male.

Narrowing her eyes at the cloaked figure, she didn't care who this was but she knew now without a doubt he had attacked her lands and she would make him pay dearly for that. No one challenged her power here, no one.

Slicing a tail through his body, Luciela eyes narrowed to a slit and a low hiss came from her throat. All she had cut through was the cloak and...

A log.

"A Replacement? Just who are you and why are you here?" Luciela asked in a furious hiss as she turned her head slightly to the left a few degrees and gazed at a very pale skinned, black haired man.

The said man looked a little surprised at this but with a lick of his lips; he grinned at her and spoke with an amused tone. "You don't know of me? I know quite a bit about you, Luciela, the Demon Abyssal of the Southern Lands."

Seeing the displeasure on her face, the said man's grin deepened as he continued on in the same tone. "I was very sure Naruto-kun would have mentioned me... After all I am part of the reason why he has lost so much. In fact you could say I am his true mortal enemy... I took one that meant so much from him and turned him against him!"

At those words Luciela's eyes widened. She knew this story... Naruto did tell of this one. "No... It can't be... He said you were dead."

A sinister and disturbing smirk grew on the man's lips as he broke a vial of blood onto his hands and began to go through a series of hand seals Luciela was not familiar with. "And I am... An old friend has perfected a forbidden technique of my favor to bring me back... Ironic really but I'm not complaining now that I see who he's using me for."

"I will end my pathetic friend's dream here and now and kill his favored student! And I'll start by taking the life of his lover!" Orochimaru hissed before finishing the seals and planting his hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose!"

And with that, all hell broke loose.

* * *

Slicking his hand through his hair and sighing, Naruto gazed into the cloudy sky and noted the storm clouds gathering in the eastern sky. "It seems it is inevitable now... War is coming and there is no stopping it. Not after learning this."

Sitting across from him, using the fire he made to keep her lover in her lap warm and help his wounds heal, Riful scooted the severely injured Dauf closer to the fire as she move forward. Heat always seemed to speed up his regeneration process, which normally took months to heal at the fastest. "It is the truth... I learned of the creation process after I turned and captured one of the heads during that time period."

"I barely knew of the legend of Juubi at that time but I've learned all I possibly could of it over my life span. Yet I'm afraid to learn very much about it as it seemed over time less and less was known about the legend. The only one that I'm sure of is that Yoma are indeed born from his flesh, though I seriously doubt they are actually his children... Far too weak for that to be true." Riful added a little more but somewhat upset that she wasn't able to gather more information on this subject.

Naruto shook his head, knowing too well that there was little information regarding the ten tailed beast. There was hardly any left in the Elemental Countries. "There isn't much more to the legend really. It was said that he ravished the world for centuries, possibly even millenniums, and was unstoppable by any means."

"Then there was the day the Sage of Six Paths was born and the Great Demon suddenly felt fear for the first time." Naruto continued on with his story, checking on his fish within the fire as he was getting rather hungry. "It was said that immediately after the Sages birth the Juubi stormed the village of his birth in attempt to eradicate this possible threat... But he failed and killed almost everyone but the Sage and his mother."

"Eighteen years later the Rikudo Sage had grown into a man and he met the Juubi once more. This time things were not for the Beast's liking and as they fought the world was torn asunder from the powers involved. But eventually he was defeated and sealed into the man, ending his reign of terror." Naruto spoke with slight reverence, wondering just what it would have been like to have watched the Sage fight the Juubi.

He was it sure it was an epic battle that the world had never seen before considering the world was torn apart during their battle. The powers involved had to be unfathomable to anyone of this day and age.

"He was defeated? By a mere human?" Riful sounded stunned at this information and had difficulty fathoming how such a powerful entity was defeated by a human no less. "There's no way... He couldn't have been defeated so easily. He must have been weakened and went off to slumber..."

"He was sealed and in the late years of the Sage's life separated into nine separate beings known as the Bijuu." Naruto responded with a deathly glare aimed at Riful, feeling slighted at her words for he knew this was the truth.

Kyuubi had confirmed this personally.

"Whether you accept it or not, he was defeated. But I have proof. I have one of the nine pieces of Juubi sealed within me, the other power you so fancied when we first met." Naruto continued and seemed a little pleased seeing the horror on Riful's face. "I know of this legend better than mostly anyone because it involves me directly as I'm the third vessel of Kyuubi, the ninth and strongest piece of the Great Demon."

At hearing this Riful wanted nothing more than to refute what he had said having looked up to Juubi as a reverent symbol, a being that was the closest thing she had to a father. But remembering the red yoki that Naruto possessed and had powerful it happened to be she could not deny that his story's truth. No human should have the ability to possess yoki like he did.

Yet... Wasn't that what the Organization was trying to do?

"It explains a lot actually now that I think about it..." Riful muttered, thinking about the experiments they performed on humans. "The Organization was trying to recreate the power of Juubi in a more controllable form as a weapon. By using his flesh on use they were hoping to eventually one day recreate him."

"Fools... Its power cannot be controlled. Hardly anyone has ever been able to control the fragments of Juubi much less its power." Naruto rolled his eyes at the notion, really wondering just how stupid some people could be. "Since the beast's separation only one person since the Great Sage has been able to contain and control the power of one of the Bijuu... Seemingly proving Madara correct. Shinobi, and all life forms at that, have weakened since his time..."

"There was no need to get stronger." Naruto finished bitterly before taking his fish from the fire before softly blowing on it to cool it.

Both Riful and Dauf went rigid at this statement. Neither could believe what he had just said. They weren't one to judge but they were quite sure of their power before he had beaten them and once he did that left them to question how strong they were. But to hear him say that a life forms since the time of Juubi's defeat had weakened...

Just made them feel even worse. Just how powerful were the Juubi and this Rikudo Sage? And then just how powerful were the earlier generations of shinobi at that?

"Oh man... Please tell me you're at least one of the most powerful shinobi. I don't even want to imagine it if you are one of the weakest." Dauf complained before shivering at the thought that Naruto could very well be one of the weakest from where he was.

"No, I am the strongest shinobi of my day and age at this time, an abnormality if you will." Naruto responded and took a deep bite of his fish and swallowed before adding a little more on. "An abnormality indeed now that I think about it. I was so far above and beyond everyone else that it is hardly fair to say I belong in this generation... I believe I would be more appropriate amongst the fabled legends."

"The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama and his rival in power Uchiha Madara in his prime, both of whom are considered legends and not even to have existed would be more accurate tests of my power. Other great tests would be the Nidaime Mizukage said to be of the Hozuki clan and someone unbeatable in genjutsu, the Sandaime Raikage with his nearly impenetrable skin and unparalleled attack power and even my father, the Fourth Hokage was said to be the fastest in the history of shinobi." Naruto added on with a grin, just thinking about how fighting each of those men and the battle that would in tell.

Both had no clue what the blonde human was saying any more, knowing nothing of these people, but still felt quite a bit better. They were defeat by the strongest, who considered himself worthy of battling legends of the past. Whether he was or not didn't matter. All that did was that he was strong enough to defeat them, two of the oldest Awaken Beings left.

However that left a question as the one thing that was repeated over and over in these men's titles happened to be this word Kage. And not one to leave things to chance, Riful had to clarify it. "I am guessing that this word Kage in your land means the strongest in your land like the term Abyssal does here."

"It does. Kages are the strongest in the lands with only the others with the title that can match them in terms of power. However normally every generation has one that stands out beyond all others, possibly one that possesses the gene of the power of old and rising far beyond the others and being considered the World's Strongest Shinobi." Naruto answered, feeling that divulging such information was not harmful.

It's not like he was telling them about their habits, which he knew not of, or their abilities, which he also did not know of outside of vague details.

Biting her lip, Riful wanted to curse. Everything she learned seemed to be moot at this point with other beings of equal or even more power out there. Just what did all the information she gather here mean out there?

Absolutely nothing.

As she continued to doubt herself, Naruto noted a strange sensation within him. Obviously there could be many reasons for that but he was not one to let such a feeling go unchecked. It served him well in the past.

Finishing his fish and tossing its carcass into the fire, he moved into the lotus position and began to focus on the world around him, drawing in the natural energy and allowing it flow within him, becoming one with the world around him.

Finally after a few moments he felt the change and the world opened up to his presence. And at that moment Naruto cursed out loud, sensing something he hadn't in a long time. Something that he couldn't believe he had not been able to sense before. "Son of a bitch! Just what the hell is going on here?"

Riful leaned back, somewhat afraid at this sudden outburst. She had been on guard when she noted that his energy levels were rapidly increasing, knowing that he was entering the form he used to defeat Dauf years back. But now she seemed confused as it seemed that he was focused on a faraway location and wondered just what was going on.

Sensory happened to be one of her best attributes and the only thing odd she noted was that the Awakened Army gathering in the east was suddenly streaming to the south, hell bent on heading to Luciela's current direction. She had noted that the Demon of the South was raising her yoki outage but thought nothing of it, thinking it to be a spar like it had been in the past.

It however seemed she was wrong, noticing a second slitted pupil crossing in the golden eyes Naruto now possessed, making it seem very much like a cross.

Creating a shadow clone, Naruto turned to Riful before speaking in a controlled voice, not liking what he had sensed. "I'll explain everything later; it will take too long to explain as of right now. Just let's say the Organization has come under new management and War has been declared on both the South and the North."

"A new player has entered this little game of ours and it isn't for the better."

And with those words, Naruto was gone in a flicker of golden light leaving Riful quite disturbed by what he had said.

* * *

"Heh... Foolish little men... Believing that I was helping them." A man hissed with a golden glint in his eye, removing a kunai from the heart of Rimuto and throwing his corpse to the side. "All they could think of was recreating a way to make the power Juubi useable in a human body... But they were going the wrong way about it all this time."

"Well the experiments are still useful at the very least... I do like having a mass army at my command." The hooded man stated, taking his seat in the main throne before sinisterly gazing at the lone survivor of his assault. "Dae, are they ready?"

"Just about. It is just about where you want me to release them." The man with the disfigured face stated, an evil glint coming from his eye. "With Riful's defeat we can focus on Isley in the North and wipe him out now so we can focus all of our forces onto the South."

"I've already sent one of my summons to the South for a distraction. I know very well that it will take much more to defeat him and I doubt this will be enough. I want to test his standing before bringing everything I've got on him. So yes, awaken them and send them to the North." The hooded man replied after a moment of thought.

"It will be done." Dae bowed likely, liking this master more than his last as he had free reign to do whatever he wanted to with his experiments.

However just as he was about to leave one thought crossed his mind and he looked to inform his new master about. "What of the remaining warriors?"

The man simply grinned at Dae before finally sliding his hood of to reveal his silver hair. "Kill them. Only Alicia and Beth are of any use to us now... Especially after the modifications I gave them... Use your new test subjects for it. It would be a good use of them to see just what they are capable of."

Dae simply bowed once more, a slight grin on his face as he would get to unleash his latest experiment onto the world. Soon this island would fall to their scientific might...

Then the world would soon follow.

* * *

**A/N2**: And there is the chapter! I've added a few of the newest additions of the Naruto manga and we'll see just how they fit. And yes, Kabuto is the hooded man and the Organization is no more. What a twist?

This chapter was much harder than I originally imagined, mostly because I had to write it out and then translate it to the computer which was far more difficult than planned, but once I got started writing many things began to chance I though it would be best if I stretch it out. Originally this war was suppose to be quick and sweet but I now going to extend this and give Naruto a taste of what war actually is.

Also some of this was simply prelude to eventual battles that will soon come to be, which I'm also looking forward to and will build up around. And just because this is war doesn't mean there will not be more character developement. In fact I will be developing everyone's character through this, espescially Clare and Raki as it continue further into it.

Kabuto and Dae taking over the Organization together was planned once I learned of the latter and though the two together and their sickening experiments would probably get along. And the new Edo Tensei that allows even sealed souls to be summoned will be explained next chapter as Orochimaru, possibly Kabuto later on if I don't get to it next chapter, taunts Luciela. I might just change it to Kabuto taunting Naruto but we'll see.

Anyways, if you have any questions or anything else you would like to say leave me a howler and I'll get back to you. Peace Out.


	21. Psychological Warfare

**A/N**: This chapter has taken a little longer than what I would have liked to get out and is less than what I had hoped for but nonetheless I still managed to put it up for you, my readers, to enjoy. Any mistakes or grammatical errors will be noted as my Beta currently has issues and until everything is sorted out I'll be on my own.

Anyways, here is the next installment of A Red Dawn, Psychological Warfare.

* * *

As the smoke billowed around the snake sannin, Luciela narrowed her eyes as she felt the presence of what he had summoned. She knew exactly what he brought to him and hissed at him, enraged at the thought of this being enough to contain her power. "THEM! You are more of a fool than what I was told of you... To think they will be able to match my power..."

Just as she ended her sentence, the smoke was blown off the summon duo and the stronger of the two clothed in a black version of the warrior's armor and cloth dashed before Luciela and slashed her sword through the demon of the South.

Except Luciela simply dissolved into the air as if she had never been there in the first place. "You're pretty fast girl, much faster than I'd anticipate... However that doesn't help you. I was one of the fastest warriors in the history of the Organization with only Hysteria said to be beyond me and possibly this Phantom Miria I've been hearing about."

Turning her head and looking towards the direction she felt the disturbance of yoki, Alicia gazed at Luciela as she sat on a tree branch while flicking her hand through her hair. "So I hope you have something more otherwise this won't even be a challenge."

Without an answer Alicia appeared before Luciela and struck again only to sever the branch and swung to the next one, Luciela having simply moved to another branch to sit. Severing few a few more branches, the Black One tore through the trunk of the tree in an attempt to catch Luciela as she moved to the next branch, felling the tree.

Jumping away and landing gracefully, Luciela moped at the lost of the tree. "Ah you're no fun. Why did you have to cut down my tree?"

Catching Beth's blade in her hand with ease, knowing the twin sister had attempted to attack her from behind to catch her with her guard down, that was aimed to sever her neck from behind, Luciela grinned. "It's going to take a lot more than that to surprise me girly. I'm an Abyssal for a reason."

Tossing her aside and gracefully spinning to the side to avoid Alicia's overhead strike, Luciela immediately jumped as she noted something wrong with the dirt beneath her feet, feeling that it had softened dramatically. As Alicia's blade crashed into the earth, she caught how it sunk into the earth below as if it was mud.

Landing in a crouch, Luciela checked her surroundings for Orochimaru to note that the snake had disappeared from sight. She knew he hadn't fled and would be very active in the battle. Because of that she would need to locate him and take him out so she could deal with the Black Ones. On their own they wouldn't be much of a problem but adding another of equal level could be problematic yet knowing that humans were much more suspect able to damage than warriors he would be the easier to take out.

He would be the priority for now. Alicia and Beth she could handle like this unless they decided to let Alicia awaken then taking Beth out would become the top priority. With Beth in danger Alicia would have to defend her sister and possibly revert back to keep her humanity.

Slicing into the ground with her tails kept beneath her dress, a smog of debris filled the air at the very moment Alicia and Beth were ready to strike at the immobile Abyssal. Instead their blades clashed with one another, forcing them to pull back and locate Luciela through their senses.

Ignoring them, Luciela dashed from the center of combat, heading towards the signature of the snake sannin. He was difficult to locate, probably due to all the experiments he had done in the past, but she locked onto him in a heartbeat. Extending her hands into claws, she slashed through multiple trees only for her eyes to narrow.

Mud dampened her fingers and behind her the clones of Orochimaru fell to the earth. Somehow she was not able to detect a difference in his clones from the genuine article. That was something she wasn't expecting since Naruto could not hide from her with his clones. He could mask his signature but he was not able to hide his scent nor were the clones able to mimic his suppressed signature.

This guy was able to completely mask his signature from her and she couldn't pick up his scent. That would be a problem if she couldn't find a way to locate him and instead picked off his clones. He could theoretically get the jump on her if she couldn't detect him until the last second.

And that nearly happened but with a burst of yoki she evaded the shuriken that whizzed by and skidded to a stop, swiveling her head as Orochimaru's voice echoed from all around her being. "Very nice. You were able to pick up my attack and evade it at the last moment to avoid a lethal dose of venom."

"I heard it coming. My five natural senses are beyond your human standards and can easily catch something like that without amplification thanks to these ears of mine." Luciela responded, hoping to get a response so she could locate the exact location of her enemy.

"Interesting... But how long will you be able to dodge without knowing where I am?" Orochimaru's voice reverberated from all around, using his ventriloquism to its full effect. "And just how long will you be able to keep your focus on me?"

Already knowing that the Black Ones had caught up, Luciela avoid their attack and jumped into the air. Extending her claws into lances, she gazed down at the forest below her she took a deep breath. She loved the beauty of the forest and the plant life here but this needed to be done. After all it would grow back in time.

Plant life was resilient like that.

And dust billowed as her lances ripped through the forest beneath her. Acre upon acres of land had now been enveloped by a thick haze of dust, enshrouding her opponents and blocking their sight of her as she landed.

Yet that did not stop their attack as they stretched their senses to locate her and continue the attack, not that Luciela had been expecting anything else. Deflecting their swings with her sharpened fingers, reinforcing her knuckles with yoki as she did, she caught Beth off guard and slashed her left cheek before driving her away with a kick to the stomach.

Deflecting Alicia's swing with the back of her knuckles and using the momentum of the blow to spin, Luciela followed through and left a deep gash on her breasts as she was barely able to step back from the blow. It seemingly didn't effect her too horribly much as she followed with a horizontal slash but the demon of the South easily ducked under and to the surprise of the black one formed a hand seal.

"Doton: Supaikumisairu."

Spikes erupted from the considerably small gap of earth between the two and launched themselves into Alicia. Or so Luciela had hoped but her eyes widened considerably as the cape slowly fluttered to the ground. "No... They've been teaching you how to wield your yoki like that?"

"Oh yes... I forgot to mention that." Orochimaru's voice came from behind before landing a finger tap blow to Luciela's chest, knocking her off balance before slicing into her rib cage and finally following with a kick that knocked the Abyssal to the ground.

Luciela quickly recovered and burrowed underneath, bursting out moments later with a considerable gap between them now that the dust had settled, showing the barren wasteland her lances had left the area in. "Bastard..."

"Oh like that's enough to slow you down." Orochimaru chastised the Awakened as he gazed towards her. "But now I see you won't be underestimating them any longer... For you see they are very capable learners and absorbed everything taught to them. And not to mention... Well I'll leave that for a secret right now. Don't want to reveal any trump cards that may be needed down the road."

"Trump Cards?" Luciela hissed out as she focused her yoki to her ribs, regenerating the wound Orochimaru had left her, narrowing her eyes and gazing at the two warriors now standing beside the snake sannin. "Just what did you do to them?"

"Not a thing... My apprentice is running the show now. But I know very well what he did." Orochimaru grinned as he gazed at the Demon of the south, suppressing a cackle as he did. "But I won't need to tell you... You will know soon enough."

"And then after I will have your head on display, just like how I had dangled his dear Uchiha before him so many times to let him know..." At this point he failed to suppress the malevolent cackle building and it came out like a hiss, his golden eyes shining as Luciela took a step back. "He'll never reach his dreams! There will be no hope left!"

"This world and all others will be reduced to ash!"

* * *

"Sabaku Kyu!" Gaara roared as sand wrapped around the monstrosities before him, his eyes narrowed as he felt each and every one of them possessed yoki just like the two women he and Sakura were traveling with now.

No, there was a difference. The two warriors with them possessed a slight amount of chakra infused with their overpowering yoki, allowing them to just hold onto their humanity. These creatures no longer had any chakra within them and had become Awakeneds, a true demon in the flesh.

"Sabaku Soso!" Gaara crushed his hand into a fist, crushing many of the Awakeneds caught in his sand with only those with the greater defense or regenerative powers slowly pulling themselves free of the sand.

"Damn!" Sakura cursed at this before drawing her fist back and shattering the skull of an Awakened that tried to jump Irene from behind, planting its corpse firmly into the ground. "What just happened here? We set out to kill that Agatha demon you were talking about and these guys suddenly swarmed the town! It seems like this was set up!"

Cutting down the Awakeneds before her with her Quicksword, Irene narrowed her eyes at the pinkette's accusation. "We had no part in this! The only reason we even came here was to take care of Agatha! It is one of our sworn duties to help those in distress that cannot defend themselves!"

Catching one another's eyes, they both stared intensely at one another to back the other down. Instead Teresa immediately cut between the two as several Awakeneds around them fell. "Enough of this. We don't have the time to point the blame to anyone if we want to get out of here in one piece!"

While Sakura didn't want to let it drop, Irene was more than happy to since living had become one of her top priorities after watching Priscilla's transformation. This in turn caused the pinkette to drop it and hop back into the fray, sending her fist into the ground to disrupt the oncoming rush before them.

Gaara quickly followed and blanketed the Awakened with his sand once more and crushed all those too weak to survive the pressure of his sand. However he soon began to note the futility of the situation as while their numbers were dropping considerably they just keep coming. "Whatever may have happened... This is a trap."

"And it was meant for Irene and me..." Teresa growled after bifurcating a few incoming Awakens, finishing those off that had survived the crippling blow. "And fighting you two before didn't help in the slightest since we are all now are weakened."

The others could only agree as the backed down into a tight formation as the Awakeneds had them completely surrounded. The situation seemed quite desperate. Yet the despite the overwhelming odds, Teresa rose her sword and pointed it towards the Awakeneds before her. "Besides, this bunch's purpose has become quite obvious."

"They're nothing but cannon fodder meant to slow us down." Gaara picked up on where Teresa was heading and had a feeling that this, while overwhelming, was just a little too simple for his tastes. "And that means..."

"That whoever sent these guys doesn't care about us... Their target is Naruto." Sakura growled and clenched her fists, ready to tear in and through this next batch of 'cannon fodder'.

She wouldn't be denied any longer. She was going to get him back and there wasn't anything that was going to stand in her way.

However to their surprise the Awakeneds stopped as the sound of clapping caught their attention. Looking around for this new perpetrator, wondering just who in the world was clapping at a moment like this and whose clapping could stop these creatures movements, Gaara was the first to spot him thanks to his sand.

And his eyes lifted up in surprise at the new foes that had presented them self before them. But no other reaction was stronger than Sakura's as her eyes widened in horror at the person. "No... This can't be."

"Unfortunately it is... I hate to say." The intruder in the battlefield spoke with a heavy sigh, not being able to control her actions as she gazed at four surrounded by these abominations. "I'm sorry for this Sakura... I truly am but I can't stop myself. And I am not your only problem..."

"Suna no Tate!" Gaara bellowed and his sand formed a protective cocoon around the four and mere seconds afterwards the barrier of sand shook heavily as a loud crack snapped on the outside as the sand inside shifted from the blow.

Narrowing his eyes at this, letting his sand dissolve around them and looking into the sky, Gaara bit his lip seeing where the explosion had come from. "Everyone be extraordinarily careful..."

"These are two S-rank ninja brought back from the dead and will be difficult to send back to where they belong." He continued while gritting his teeth, explaining this more to Teresa and Irene than his shell shocked teammate. "I've only heard about this technique but those brought back from the dead have an unusual ability to regenerate and the only way to truly defeat them is by either sealing them or obliterating the body used to resurrect them... Multiple times."

"Oh great... And now we have to deal with this along with all these damn Awakeneds. Joy." Teresa sarcastically responded with a slight growl in her throat, feeling this had just got a lot harder. "And from what I can see from the girl's reaction here... You know these two, don't you?"

Gaara could only nod as he gazed up at the ninja floating in the sky on his perch, looking down on them with that insane grin of his. "I do... The one in the sky is Deidara... One of the few shinobi that has ever managed to defeat me... And the girl..."

"Is a former teacher of mine... " Sakura said as she chocked back her tears, gazing at the ashen woman before them. "Senju Tsunade... The Fifth Hokage of Konoha... And Naruto adoptive mother."

* * *

This was bad. Flora could sense that Luciela had a fight on her hands. She knew the Black Ones would be difficult on their own but whatever it was that was caused those snakes to attack was also there and was giving the Abyssal fits.

To so far as to destroy the plant life she so kept pristine to level out the playing field was just one note of the desperation the Abyssal had shown. And unfortunately... She couldn't help.

It wasn't like she really could do anything again Alicia and Beth, and most likely this new player, but she could at least be a helping hand. However her job was now to protect the girl and boy since they had nowhere near the amount of skill it took to fight enemies of this level.

Clare had come a long way but this was just beyond her abilities. Despite all that Naruto had taught her she was only able to keep up against the lowest ranked warriors and yoma. He had stated that she was only a genin in rank in his land, the lowest rank of official soldiers there happened to be, and had plenty of potential to grow into a great warrior but...

With this war starting there was no time for that to happen and she now was more of a liability than an asset. She wasn't much better than the boy, who couldn't even defend himself against a low level yoma.

"Come on you two... Those snakes maybe gone but something still off here." Flora spoke lightly to warn her wards as she led them back to the base.

She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something here. Something she wasn't sure about since she couldn't sense any yoki in the surrounding area. Of course she couldn't sense those snakes either outside of the bustling of the forestry around yet they had an odd sensation about them much like the one she was sensing at the exact moment.

The only difference was the feeling felt just a bit less chaotic, which in turn put her off even further. The last thing she needed to feel right now was calm. This was a battlefield and dropping your guard could cost more than just her life.

Holding onto her sword tightly, wondering just what it was that was stalking them with this 'calm' aura, Flora keep her eyes peeled but nothing prepared her for what happened. "Look out!"

Of all things, Clare had seen what she hadn't. She had been looking for something along the lines of the snakes as before. She was completely baffled as the earth before her suddenly turned into a thick goo that stopped her from being able to lift her feet and even more so from the blazing inferno that suddenly spewed out before her. There was nothing that could stop it...

Yet somehow a wall of earth arose and was just strong enough to shield her from the flames before she was ripped out of the goo and thrown back onto dry land.

Looking back, expecting Naruto as she felt a burst of familiar energy, Flora's eyes widened as she noted that it had been Clare that had pulled her free. And her eyes reverted back to their usual brown from the golden tint they had been just before.

"How...?" Flora tried to ask, not expecting Clare to be able to do something like that.

"I can't do it for long... Only for a twenty seconds at most before it starts to seriously take its toll on me and turns me to stone." Clare responded with a pant, knowing that she could only use Sage Mode for only so long since she had no where near the experience or the training to sustain such strain like her master.

"That was unexpected..." A voice stated with surprise evident within it. "To think that another could actually use Senjutsu..."

Drawing a kunai out as the earth that made her wall crumbled down and settling into a the stance Naruto taught her as Flora stood up holding her blade, Clare narrowed her eyes as a figure appeared before him. "How do you know of Senjutsu? Only Naruto-sensei and his master were the only two that ever master that art."

Sighing deeply as he completely came out of the foliage, a man with long white hair and a tacky choice of clothes stood before her. "I know of it... Because I taught the brat..."

"My name is Jiraiya... And I am your master's sensei..." Jiraiya stated before his hands shakily went to for a seal he did not want to make. "Please... Run... I can't control what I'm about to do."

Seeing both freeze up at this, he screamed out. "Run dammit! I can't stop this!"

"Katon: Shōdo!"

* * *

In a flash of bright light, Naruto stood in a familiar clearing. He was in the Luciela's apple orchard. Narrowing his eyes for a moment, not remembering leaving a marker here before, he squatted down and picked up the kunai that had been embedded into the earth.

While he sensed what was about to happened and knew something was wrong, he came to the first marker as he had sensed Luciela close by and figure she was summoning him before the shit hit the fan. However now that he was here he could tell she was a few miles away and having her own difficulties.

There were the other suspects in that Clare, Raki and Flora were nearby but only the former had a kunai on their person since he could not remake the famous kunai without the help of a very skilled blacksmith and had only lucked out that his father had made a lot of them during the Third Shinobi War and had kept just enough to be given down to him when the time was right by Fukusaku and Shima.

What bothered him was that no one else that had his kunai were even in the vicinity and immediately this put him on guard. Just who else would have a kunai that belong to his father... One that was so rusted and...

It happened before he knew it.

Chains made of pure chakra surged out and wrapped around his torso, securing his arms to his chest.

Struggling against the chains, knowing just what they came from, and to keep his feet, Naruto was slowly drug to his knees as a seal array suddenly formed beneath him.

Naruto's eyes bulged, knowing just what this seal did, he lifted his head as two figure stood before him having immense regret on their faces. "No... It can't be... I didn't sense either of you being brought back from the pure world!"

"Because we weren't, Naruto... This technique is something new... Something that mimics the properties of Edo Tensei but can even bring back those that had been sealed away." The blonde of the two spoke as he gazed down at Naruto, remorse filled in his crystal blue eyes.

"Something that mimics Edo Tensei..." Naruto muttered as he continued to resist the chains that bound him.

The red head only nodded as she bit down on her lip, doing everything in her power to resist the power that commanded her. "I know this pains you Naruto... As it does to us... But we need you to fight. We can't be used like this..."

Without a second of hesitation and against every fiber in her body, her chains ripped through his arms and torso like butter. Only instead of blood there was a plum of smoke present where Naruto had been. "So please... Do whatever you have to do..."

Both looked up and into the apple tree to see Naruto in his Akatsuki cloak carefully gauging the two. In response the blonde drew a threw pronged kunai while forming a familiar spiraling technique in his dominant hand while the red head was bathed in a brilliant red chakra.

"Please... STOP US!" Kushina and Minato screamed in unison as they lunged.

And then...

Hell truly broke loose.

* * *

**A/N2**: And there is the chapter... And another cliff hanger, but expect those to continue for quite a while as I don't have as much time to write as I did before and I'm kind of looking to extend this arc a little more than I originally planned.

Bringing back the Sannin, Minato and Kushina was actually all planned in the original notes however how I'm doing it now is a far cry than in my original notes. Originally there was suppose to be a dream sequence that led to Naruto meeting with all the powers that may be concerned and will eventually be making their way into this story soon. I've ended up with this so I hope that you enjoy.

However don't think I'm getting away from the Claymore universe just yet... I have a few more secrets and plans in-stored. What they are, you'll just have to stay tuned...

New Jutsu:

Doton: Supaikumisairu - Earth Style: Spike Missiles

Peace Out.


	22. The Second Sage of Six Paths

There was no hesitation. There could be none. Not if he wanted to survive. Not if he wanted to save the others. Not if he was going to stop the person behind this horrible recreation of his loved one's.

There was no time to feel pain.

Grabbing the wrists of his parent's ready to strike him down, he slung the two above him temporarily before leaping into the air even higher. Then finally with a great heave he flung the two to the earth below with as much possible force creating a massive crater from the impact.

He knew this wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. But he wasn't finished. He was prepared for such an encounter as there was always the chance Orochimaru had taught someone his techniques or had left them behind for someone, a certain medic nin maybe, to find and learn. And he was prepared to eradicate the summons in case this technique just so happened to be used on him.

And thankfully Jiraiya had prepared him for such in their short time they had together.

"Katon: Shodo!" Naruto finished the seals and purged the very crater he threw his resurrected parents into with superheated flames that very few fire jutsu could ever hope to match much less surpass.

Only Amaterasu and a few bijuu/jinchuuriki related techniques ever reach such a high degree of temperature and surpassed it.

Yet despite these flames Naruto knew it would take much, much more to take care of his parents. He heard of their feats and knew just how strong they were from the mere displays from their sealed images within his seal. These two were the strongest of the generation, far surpassing everyone outside of maybe E and Kirabi.

And he knew that it would take far more than the flames than that of Scorched Earth to even slow them down without the added regeneration of the improved version of Edo Tensei.

And he wasn't surprised as his mother's chakra chains burst from the flames and wrapped around his torso and arms, pinning them to his chest, before he was violently thrown to the ground.

Gasping out from the suddenness of the slam while struggling against the chains the held him pin, Naruto managed to move enough to avoid a kunai aimed to pierce through his chest cavity by his mother before his father came in with a Rasengan. Lunging the lower half of his body upwards he kicked Minato as he moved in for the kill before using his momentum to spin and land on his feet.

It didn't seem Kushina was going to let him stay upright as he was once more violently pulled, this time straight towards his mother as she went through a few very familiar hand seals. "Katon: Gokakyu!"

And just as she took a deep breath and fire began to stream towards him, Minato landed just behind Kushina and to the worst of his luck his father had finished another series of hand seals, dispersing his Rasengan, that seemed just a little too familiar. "Futon: Harikēngeiru."

Cursing under his breath, as this was an old tactic used to empower fire jutsu and it was double trouble as Hurricane Gale was one of the most powerful wind jutsu around that wouldn't kill the flames, Naruto was held firm by the chains and drug into the fire.

Only to disappear in a flicker of light thanks to his old man's technique.

Sealing the kunai immediately, not giving his father the chance to use the flash against him, Naruto was a second too late as Minato was the fastest shinobi in history for a good reason. A kunai slashed through the back of his shoulder deeply enough to elicit a growl from Naruto as he stumbled forward, not able to react fast enough to avoid the slash.

He however did manage to move just enough to avoid his spine being severed so that was a positive.

Not bothering to cover the open wound, as there was no time to worry about it and he could feel it already beginning to repair itself thanks to the influx of Kyuubi's yoki flowing to the wound, Naruto drew a kunai from a seal within his cloak and retaliated with a quick spin.

His father's reaction was exactly as expected. Not only was it fast but the power behind it was enough to stand his swing and not buckle. And it soon became painfully obvious that he was nowhere near Minato's speed in any aspect as both went for a knockback breakaway, Naruto with a swift and chakra enhanced punch while his father completely spun for a roundhouse kick.

Minato won and caught Naruto on the chin with his heel.

The force of the blow again sent the Akatsuki leader stumbling but this time his mother was behind him. He hardly had enough time to set up a weak guard and could only bring his arms up to protect his face as Kushina kicked high off her heel. His forearms barely provided any protection and barely took the brunt of the blow and left him off balanced.

Kushina swiftly spun back and reset herself before launching out in a sharp and precise assault that was far faster and stronger than Naruto could have ever predicted. If it wasn't for the moment he would be surprised on just how capable his mother was and nearly had to put this onslaught on par of Tsunade's, being far quicker while thankfully lacking her immense strength.

Though her power was nothing like he imagined in the slightest and he could attest to it when she connected with another kick to his shoulder, jamming it and nearly breaking bone in the process.

But now that he was getting use to the speed, not having a true battle with someone comparable to him size for he only sparred with Teresa, Irene and Luciela in her human form, he began to match her quite easily. He became more fluid and could block her strikes without much protest as he was physically stronger and her speed was far less than his own.

However the fight wasn't just coming from his mother. His father came in and added far more trouble as he sided with his wife and attacked from two different angles. Naruto quickly disabled his father's left arm and knocked that kunai away from him but was punished with a hefty and enhanced blast across the temple from his mother that almost reminded him of one of Sakura's punches.

Losing his footing he righted his momentum with a forward roll within the air before rushing forward. His only chance was to gather distance so he could put together the intel he had learned from this brief encounter and formulate a plan after bringing Kyuubi into the fight for both his power and his knowledge of both his parents.

Very few people had a better insight on them than the fox demon and he was going to need that if he were to win this battle. They were a natural tandem and knew how to work well with one another and that was going to make them even tougher to beat.

Yet it barely even mattered after her sprinted ahead. He knew his father was faster than he was, even E had admitted that Minato without the flash was as fast if not faster than he was, but he was prepared as his Minato and Kushina chased him down.

Throwing the kunai he had drawn earlier directly at the position his father was about to be at, Naruto activated a single half seal before closing his eyes as he activated the seal on the kunai.

A bright flash of light enveloped Minato, completely stopping his approach and allowed the kunai to stick into his chest, while it simply stopped Kushina as she cried out and furiously rubbed her eyes. And taking advantage of this Naruto continued to sprint ahead before beginning to erratically change his direction to make pursuit harder.

'Kyuubi! I need some help here!' Naruto finally managed to focus enough to open a connection to the fox so they could speak. 'Anything and everything you have on my parent's would be highly appreciated!'

The response he got was not the one he was expecting. Kyuubi roared with laughter. "**Ha! And just why should I? You've always wanted to know what it was like to fight the greats of this world... So here you go! Fight them on your...**"

Before he could get any further Naruto growled back at his demon and cut off the insult and any future back talk the fox had in mind. 'This isn't the time fox! Either you help me or we're both fucked! Not only have my mother and father have been brought back to this realm by an Edo Tensei evolution but so has Ero-sennin, the old hag and quite a few others that are going to make our life hell!'

And to emphasize his seriousness at the end Naruto placed his hand on the seal and with flick of his hand activated a safety procedure that slammed the walls of the prison down and onto the fox. 'Everyone else is in danger, fox! Now are you going to sit there and be a little bitch about this or are you going to help me?'

For one of those few times in its lifespan since being born from the Juubi's separation Kyuubi felt a small trickle of fear for the blonde as the walls of the seal pinned him to the ground, placing enough pressure on his body that it actually felt like he was being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste. And for the first time since that time someone had enough presence and authority to actually step up to him and command him.

Madara had tried but he had been unsuccessful in gaining the fox demon's respect and instead garnered his hatred. And while Naruto had put him in a similar predicament as the Uchiha had there was a difference between the two. Madara wanted his power and would do anything to get it.

Naruto needed it and wouldn't stop for anything to get it.

So he would begrudgingly help his container, if nothing else for the slight respect he just earned but mostly for their symbiosis. If Naruto needed all of these people and creatures around to be happy so did Kyuubi as his vessel's life affected his.

Simple fact of his sealed life.

"**Fine...**" Kyuubi growled out and was relieved to feel the pressure of the seal released so he could stretch his cramped muscles. "**Of what I know of the two I would suggest taking out your mother first. It might enrage Minato and belittle his ego a bit but Kushina is by far the more dangerous of the two for you.**"

"**Her sealing prowess is one of the best I have seen and considering I was sealed originally by Senju Mito, formerly an Uzumaki, and she just happened to be the foremost seal's expert of that time and taught everything she knew to Kushina who applied it to what she was taught and left to by her clan.**"

"**Furthermore she is absolutely lethal in close range combat as with just one hit she can plant an invisible seal on you. No matter if it was a slap, punch, kick or even a head-butt she is capable of applying a seal through a method she specifically created that happens to work quite like chakra infusion. And because she worked so often with Minato she learned how to do this with the Hiraishin seal...**" Kyuubi continued but was cut off by the lack of concentration Naruto could focus onto the link.

"Oh fuck!" Naruto yelled out loud, having just found that his mother had indeed planted an invisible Hiraishin seal on him, he ducked under his father's Rasengan before drawing a kunai and stabbing it into his stomach before he could flicker away with the flash.

And just after he indeed used the Flying Thunder God and appeared directly behind in near a millisecond but Naruto activated the seal on that particular kunai. "Fuinjutsu: Tamashi Doren!"

A blue chakra flare erupted from the spot where the kunai had stabbed his father and all that chakra was drawn into the embedded kunai. The stopped Minato in his tracks and forced him to grab the kunai's handle, which allowed more chakra to be drained through the kunai, but with a display of epic level toughness, despite the fact that he was mostly a zombie now, he ripped the kunai out and tossed it aside.

Naruto, however, didn't have any time to witness this for Kushina had followed after him and now had caught up, not so badly affected by the flash, and had a jutsu already readied to be used. And with a simple gaze of her eyes she released it. "Magen: Hyōji garasu o gyaku ni!"

The world around Naruto shimmered for a brief moment but nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he knew very well a genjutsu had just been casted. Already preparing to counter it by using a strong enough pulse to wipe it clean, Naruto held his hands into the ram seal. "Kai!"

Yet nothing happened. Nothing at all. No tell-tale sign of the genjutsu being purged. No visible change. Nothing.

"**Shit! Kit this genjutsu can't simply be dispelled by normal means!**" Kyuubi suddenly roared from within, establishing their mental connection itself knowing Naruto wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to do it. "**She must have planted another invisible seal on you from another blow, probably the first hit, and set this up before hand and allowed it enough time develop into your system so you couldn't just purge it.**"

Glad that the fox set up the connection so he didn't have to concentrate and maintain it himself, Naruto saw his father coming for him from the corner of his eyes. Moving to jump back, he couldn't believe what happened next.

He jumped ahead, right into a clothesline by Kushina that flattened him. And as he attempted to get up, he hissed out as instead of jumping back to his feet he slammed his entire body against the ground in a useless flailing manner. "What the..."

"Get up Naruto!" Kushina screamed as she grimaced looking upon her son but had no choice but to follow her bodies orders and was preparing a jutsu. "Every single muscle of your body has literally switched!"

"Moving your right arm moves your left in the opposite direction! Reverse Viewing Mirror in plain terms reverses the way you view and react in the world! I know it is a lot to ask but you have relearn how to use your body and remaster your instincts until Kushina is defeated!" Minato yelled out as he was using Yumi Numa to turn the ground into swamp.

"What?" Naruto screamed, further unnerved by the fact that his parents were allowed to keep their conscience while fighting him to the death, before noting the swamp beginning to engulf him.

And he had no time and followed his father's instructions and reversed his movement, not an easy task. But if Kabuto could do it after Tsunade had changed his nervous system he could. There was no way he was going to let that snake medic better him in anything!

Leaping into the air by sheer willpower, Naruto was suddenly engulfed by a great burst of intense flames after hearing his mother's call and flung a. "Katon: Ōkina jigoku!"

With everything going wrong it was a matter of sheer luck and his knowledge of the landscape that he landed near a pond that Luciela had made to store her favorite fish. Mentally apologizing as this would indeed kill a lot of her fish, he quickly remastered how to roll and temporarily rolled the opposite direction for only a moment before finally managing to roll into the water.

Now a new problem came as he rolled himself too far in and had great difficulty controlling his momentum.

He now had to remaster swimming before he drowned.

"**Dammit!**" Kyuubi roared as Naruto was struggling to stay above the water's surface. "**This is bad! You can't just dispel this no matter what as she's sealed the activation seal on you. The only way in taking care of it is to find the seal or take out your mother as not even my yoki can overpower this seal!**"

"Fuck!" Naruto managed to rip off as he struggled like a common civil caught in a torrential wave, barely managing to get back to where his feet made contact with the pond's bank.

And to his misfortune he could see his mother using another jutsu while screaming at him. "Get out of there! Suiton: Wārupūru o doraggu!"

Despite trying to regain a semblance of control there wasn't a chance for Naruto to get out of the pond in time. The water began to violently swirl around him, rapidly increasing in velocity and strength and began to pull him towards the center, dragging him under a few times and making it further difficult to breath.

Fighting against it was useless in his condition and he knew it was going to hurt. But what worried him was that Dragging Whirlpool was a B-rank set up technique and it was meant to drag the opponent into a worse situation, sometimes into a more dangerous technique.

And his fears proved to be right as he saw Minato standing in the middle of the Whirlpool, using chakra to stay on top of the water while keeping himself from being pulled in. And he was preparing a Rasengan to finish the battle once and for all. Yet he could feel this wasn't a normal Rasengan. No there was something more to this one.

Something that made it more dangerous.

And there was no way to dodge it as he was drug into range of the attack, struggling to keep from being pulled under. It was all going to be over with this one blow. He was going to die at his father's hands just as he thrusted the spiraling chakra orb towards his face.

"Forgive me!" Minato cried out, wanting to close his eyes to not witness this act, but followed through and administered the killing blow

"_Ha, so this is how the great Uzumaki Naruto's life ends?_" A voice resonated within him, a voice that he did not recognize but somehow felt familiar.

And yet the voice wasn't finished and continued to belittle Naruto. "_Pathetic... I thought you were going to change this world for the better? To make this world understand one another and bring forth the peace we both so desperately wanted to achieve._"

"_Too bad... I guess my way would have been more effective in the end, boy._"

At those words he recognized the voice. He recognized that condescending voice, one that was sure that he was so correct that he was willing to see the world burn in order to bring it under one rule.

That voice belonged to Uchiha Madara.

And there was no way in hell he was going to let that bastard prove him wrong!

* * *

Unbeknownst to him but known to the fox a light begun to glow from within his mind. It was a silverish purple glow that flickered at the end of the large tunnel that lay before Kyuubi.

At first the fox demon wasn't quite sure what it was. However as it began to take a simple shape, the fox's crimson eyes narrowed. It was ovular in shape, almost like that of an eye. ...No it was that of an eye.

Then there was a second glow next two it, identical in feature and shade. The two shimmered in the darkness of his vessel's mind before they fierily erupted, showing the black rings that circled around the pupil, and its light began to fill the dark tunnels of Naruto's mind, shining light on places never tred before.

The light even lit up his dark and dank cage and then a feeling washed over the fox, one that was not unknown to him. One he hadn't felt in a long time.

A sly grin slowly traced Kyuubi's muzzle before a deep and dark chuckle filled his cage, as it came from him. "**Well what do you know... You may have no special powers or bloodlines... But you do have something that everyone else in this world wished they could have.**"

"**I never thought in a thousand years that you would grace this world again... But in the form of this boy, now that is rich!**" Kyuubi bellowed in laughter, almost not believing what had just transpired.

Controlling his laughter after a moment, a glint gleamed from the fox's crimson eyes while his smirk did not diminish. "**So let's see what you can do now that you've remembered who you are... The Second Coming of the Sage of Six.**"

* * *

Latching onto Minato's wrist with the Rasengan only inches from connecting to his face, Naruto's entire being stopped despite the drag from the waves. His entire being shook but the Rasengan did not move an inch. "No..."

To tell the truth both Kushina and Minato were stunned at this turn of events. They were sure they had just caused their son's demise yet this sudden act showed something completely different. Naruto had stopped them and had suddenly regained control of the situation. However what confused them was what he said.

No what?

"No..." Naruto said again, his body still shaking as he slowly and mysteriously began to rise from the water. It almost seemed that he was being pulled out as he rose but it was assured that he was being lifted by his own, on his own power.

Minato wasn't sure what to think of this. This was nothing like he had ever seen before and he had seen quite a lot during his time. And this took the cake. Naruto had lifted himself out of the water on his own power, after being hit by his wife's deadly Reverse Viewing Glass technique and had seemingly reversed it.

And that alone was something no one had ever done in the midst of battle. But to add to it something felt different about his son. Something that wasn't there before. Something that made him even more dangerous.

It also didn't help that Naruto's head was lowered and his soaking bangs covered his eyes, keeping them from being seen.

"No..." Naruto said yet again but this time with more of an edge in his tone before lifting his head enough for his eyes to finally be seen.

They were still the vibrant blue they always had been before but there something new to them. His eyes were gleaming with a new determination and an unyielding will bored into Minato's own seeing them. "I will not fail again!"

And before he could even react the Fourth Hokage was knocked off his feet as Naruto's connect his foot to his jaw.

Minato was sent flying from the force of the blow, skidding across the tumultuous waves caused by Kushina's jutsu. He soon attempted to right himself but immediately found his son was on top of him before he could prepare to defend himself.

And Naruto lit into the Fourth. Blow after blow, the Yondaime was not even able to lift a hand to defend himself and was rocked from his devastating assault. Every hit connected and did severe damage, occasionally even destroying a limb with a critical hit and forcing the Edo Tensei body to regenerate the wound only for it to lose that limb nearly seconds later.

Sensing his mother's presence, Naruto slammed his right palm into his father's chest and pushed him back before slightly turning his feet and his body to the side he caught the chains his mother had sent to constrict him in his left hand. He felt them tug against his grip, attempting to pull him from his spot and off balance so they could contain him.

He wasn't going to let that happened. So he yanked on them.

Hard.

Kushina was in a state of disbelief. Not even the Kyuubi had ever been able to resist the power of her chains and always struggled against them. Yet here Naruto was able to catch her chains and then overpower their pull. And then with a yank she found that she had lost her balance and was pulled straight into him.

And to make matters worse he was prepared for her. With a Rasengan.

Yet before it made contact a flash of yellow appeared between both of them and Minato took the brunt of the Rasengan. It nearly disintegrated his entire torso from the contact leaving a thin strand of his resurrected body connecting his two halves.

* * *

This action surprised not only Naruto and Kushina but even their controller. Narrowing his eyes as this wasn't supposed to be possible, as his control was supposed to be absolute, Kabuto growled in his throat. "What the hell... Just what is going on?"

"Is something wrong?" Dae asked as he turned to his new master, though he would like to think it was more of a partnership, and gave the man a perplexed look.

"One of my summons... Managed to defy my will if only for a moment." Kabuto hissed out, now having control once more but was very disturbed by this turn of events. "While this is only a one time occurrence it is quite bothersome as if another has the power to overwhelm my control, possibly entirely, things could become quite dangerous as they are not easily defeated."

Looking genuinely surprised at hearing this, Dae was left speechless. From what he had seen of Kabuto's resurrected warriors none of them had been able to disobey his will and for one to do so, even if it was only temporary, was a truly horrific thought.

Each of these warriors seemed to possess the prowess becoming of an Abyssal and for one to run amok without any sort of control was definitely a show stopper as this technique had one flaw in it. To cancel it every revived warrior had to be canceled.

However Kabuto seemed to be a little worried as now he had seemed to have lost control but instead of showing his worry he simply grinned. "I will have to keep a closer eye on the others from now on to work out any kinks... But otherwise there is no worry."

"The Abyssal Warrior will be too distraught to launch an attack even if he makes through this trial intact."

* * *

"It still seems that you both are still in there..." Naruto spoke as he stood from a crouch, having jumped back to gather distance between the two, and watched as his father's body regenerated. "Then allow me to ease your pain... I'll finish this now."

"Please..." Minato spoke as his torso quickly began to reconstruct. "Come at us with everything you have... And grant us relief from this nightmare."

Kushina could only nod as she fought for control of her body with every fiber of her being, fighting tooth and nail to not relinquish the control her husband had regained for them. Her body trembled from the effort but she had managed to keep her body rooted to the spot she possessed.

Grimacing but nodding Naruto brought both of his hands before him and cupped them and began to form at what first seemed to be a Rasengan. However as the water in the pond began to spiral rapidly around him, rising form the water and creating a twister, it felt as if a vacuum was being created and was sucking everything nearby into it.

And everything that was being drawn into the Rasengan was eviscerated.

But the technique wasn't finished as he drew one hand with the Rasengan away while the other held onto it and the free hand yet another orb sprung to life. Yet this one was different from the other he created.

Nothing was being drawn into this one. Instead the water from the nearby twister began to evaporate into a fine mist as it tint shifted from the normal blue hue to a blazing red that almost seemed like fire with orange shading the shell of the Rasengan.

And yet he still wasn't done as he drew both away and held them in a symmetrical pose. "It's ready..."

"Do it! Do it while we still have control!" Kushina screamed at her son, losing the battle as he body began to move forward in order to stop Naruto.

Feeling vile rising in his stomach and into his throat, as these were his parents no matter what, Naruto swallowed the vile for he knew what he had to do. This wasn't about him anymore.

The others were in danger and he would be damned if he was going to lose any more of his precious people. Tsunade and Shizune was enough to lose...

He would lose no more!

Sprinting forward to meet his mother's charge, he spun underneath her guard and with a quick kick knocked her back and into the still regenerating resurrection of his father. Gazing at them one last time, he close his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Forgive me..."

And he lunged towards them, slamming the red Rasengan into Kushina's stomach and forced her into her father. "Katon: Rasengan!"

The spiraling flames burnt their flesh into ashes as it carved into his mother, smoldering her body quickly and started to singe his father's flesh. But it was not over as he thrusted the wind based chakra orb into them, making connection with his fire Rasengan. "Futon: Rasengan!"

And when the two Rasengans met they did not challenge one another. Instead the melded with the other, fusing into one massive orb of super-heated flames and cutting winds. But that was only for a moment as the vacuum of the wind style orb caught hold of the flame orb and violently erupted, dragging everything into it. "Jigoku no Shinkū!"

With a flicker of light, Naruto avoid the suction as he watched his parents be drug into the eruption. It thankfully as quick as their bodies just weren't enough to withstand the onslaught and were incinerated, leaving nothing but ashes as it truly erupted, scatting cutting flames across the land, turning everything within its range to ash while the water of the pond evaporated.

Once the flames and smoke had cleared the pond was no long there. In its place was a smoldering, ash covered crater. There was nothing left of his parents, who thankfully perished within the blast.

Ignoring the tears that trailed down his cheeks, Naruto turned from the spot without so much as a farewell or a prayer and disappeared in a flash.

He would not stop. He would not yield. He would save his friends and family.

It was a promise of a life time.

* * *

**A/N**: And there it is! Chapter twenty-two is complete! Sorry it took so long but I was having some difficulty with it and then I got onto a roll with Hollow King and A True Hero, though I do suggest you to check them both out as I think they are turning out pretty well so far.

I always wanted this fight to occur as a stepping stone to have Naruto remember what his purpose was. To remember his promise of bringing his world peace. And while being the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths was something I threw in, who is better to bring peace to the world then the one who happened to stop Juubi and bring the first peace to the world.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you have any question about it just let me know and I answer them to the best of my ability without giving anything away.

Translations:

Magen: Hyōji garasu o gyaku ni - Demonic Illusion: Reverse Viewing Glass

Katon: Ōkina jigoku - Great Inferno

Suiton: Wārupūru o doraggu - Water Style: Dragging Whirlpool

Jigoku no shinkū- Hell's Vacuum

Peace Out.


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